: This Shanghai Crab Battle Is OVA!

In an amazing similarity to around this time last year, the Pants Network Forum has again been transformed into some sort of freaky shrine. The focus of this year's efforts are the characters behind the SBS show Iron Chef, a show that has captured the hearts (and stomachs) of many budding culinary wannabes or Mayuko Takata stalkers admirers.

I'm hoping that the forum can reach 10,000 posts by the end of the year. There's less than 1,000 posts to go and a month left on the calendar so I'm hopeful that we can get enough Russians to spam the board before we reach 2005. Even if you aren't Russian or know about Iron Chef, head on over to the forum and start abusing people. It's fun, really it is...

For the people who already frequent the boards, I've put up some Iron Chef-themed emoticons for you to sprinkle into your next conversation. I should also thank Zeph for starting this trend, now I have someone to blame...

Freshness guaranteed, all at forum.pantsnetwork.com.

: Tea For Two, Eh?

In recognition of all the thoughtful donations to the Pants Network "That boy needs to go outside more" fund, someone kindly sponsored a ticket for me to go to the Tea Party concert held last Friday. Unlike most concerts which always end up at The Thebby, this one was held at the Adelaide Uni, the stomping ground of several forum regulars. Word up, fellas. :)

The supporting acts:
The two supporting acts were quite enjoyable, the first was a band from Perth who I believe were called Black Eyed Dogs. The main supporting act was Adelaide's own Testeagles. Although I was thinking I was unfamiliar with their work, several of the songs they performed brought back some memories and they did a really great job. Rumour has it that the Testeagles drummer was wearing a Half-Life 2 baseball cap, although the team of Pants researchers are still investigating whether he had to connect to Steam before placing the hat on his head.

The intermission:
Best intermission ever. We started out with the obligatory Queens Of The Stone Age and No One Knows, then to The Waifs with London Still, then to complete the Dave Grohl triple-play™ we heard One By One by the Foo Fighters. Also featured during the intermission were artists including Muse (Time Is Running Out) & Elvis Costello (Pump It Up). A very neat playlist.

The main event:
Those Canadians gave us a very good show. There were a few songs I wasn't familiar with, though they were playing a lot of stuff off their latest album (Seven Circles), which I've had a good listen to. Although all three band members were great, Jeff Martin, the 100% modest lead singer, was incredible with his vocals. He has a very strong & unique-sounding voice, and he didn't hold back for the Adelaide crowd. There were lots of unusual instruments used throughout the performance as well, although we never did get to hear a slide-whistle in action. :(

Song highlights would include a tribute to their former manager titled Oceans, their biggest hit Temptation, and their version of The Rolling Stones' Paint It Black. Overall the concert was a little slow in parts but the open surroundings of the Uni grounds and the pleasant warm weather & full moon above more than made up for it.

Well worth the price of admission, which I never did pay now that I think about it... Whoops!

: Old Man Reznor

Some have suggested that there's been a bit too much talk of stupid talentless whatevers on Pants recently, so I thought I'd talk about some clever whateverless talent instead. Due to the cyclic, almost carousel-like nature of the website, you shouldn't be too surprised if I've mentioned this guy once or twice before...

The last time Trent was mentioned here, it seems as if our favourite corn starch connoisseur was taking a bit longer than expected to finish his new album, titled Bleedthrough. Checking his site recently, we finally get an update on the album's status:

Thankfully, "Bleedthrough is no more" is not as dire as it sounds. There will still be a new album next year, this album is now to be titled With Teeth.

The new title is a pleasantly optimistic one, considering that by the time Trent (pictured below, hard at work on the studio's mixing boards) finishes, he'll probably be wearing dentures and the obligatory up-to-the-shoulders old man trousers. Already looking a bit grey there Trent...

While I'm patiently waiting for the new album, I'm also patiently waiting for my The Downward Spiral 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition delivery to make its way to my doorstop in the next week or so, all courtesy of the champs at Amazon. Perhaps I'll look at doing a mini-review for the site once I've given it a thorough listen... Get a move on Trent, and hurry up Amazon...!