HitchHicker's Guide to Life

The Muffinman is free!

2012-02-08T20:44:00.004+01:00

Dumpster Divers of all nations, rejoice! The famous Belgian Muffinman has been acquitted of stealing 2 bags of perished muffinds. For those who are not familiar with the concept of dumpster diving, skipping, tatting, bin-diving, D-mart or "recycling" food: this is "the practice of sifting through commercial or residential trash to find items that have been discarded by their owners but might be useful to the dumpster diver" (Wikipedia definition).But who is the Muffinman, you might ask? Well, Steven De Geynst is a dumpster diver who received a 6-month sentence for "stealing" 2 bags of perished muffins from a GB supermarket. He appealed and was acquitted. He has been a strong voice in the battle against food waste and the way supermarkets deal with goods that are still perfectly alright.

Building a snowman, flake by flake

2012-02-05T21:27:00.001+01:00

Last year Caitlin built her first snowman with her grandfather in Germany. This time I helped her build one here in Belgium. The German one was more beautiful, but I'm sure the quality of the snow played some part in that. In Germany they use the roll-the-snow-till-it-becomes-a-ball, and repeat that three times with balls of smaller sizes. Here in Belgium the snow just doesn't stick, so we use the fill-the-bucket-and-then-push-the-snow-tight. It works like a charm :)

Best wishes for 2012

2011-12-29T11:51:00.000+01:00

Dear friends,we would like to wish you all the best for 2012. Peace, happiness and good health to you all, and we hope to meet up soon again.

G4S drops the deal with ISS

2011-11-01T23:57:00.000+01:00

As some of you might know, I work for ISS, one of the largest facility service companies in the world. And a couple of weeks ago G4S (Britain's largest security firm) announced that they were starting a £5.2bn bid to buy ISS.Today they announced that they are dropping the bid because some shareholders opposed the deal in the current economic climate. They deemed it "too risky". I can only hope G4S will pay ISS a break fee.

Lagavulin Single Malt

2011-10-17T21:03:00.002+02:00

Lagavulin Single Malt is an Islay single malt Scotch whisky produced at Lagavulin on the island of Islay (Scotland). The standard Lagavulin single malt is 16 years old (43%), though they regularly release a 12-year-old cask strength variety.

Ethical Vegetarian Alternative (EVA) wins the Flemish Culture Prize

2011-10-09T18:08:00.001+02:00

Good news from Flanders: The organisation EVA (Ethical Vegetarian Alternative) has won the 2011 Flemish Culture Prize for a social-cultural organisation. EVA is awarded this prestigious prize for their "Thursday Veggie Day" campaign. In schools and administrative offices around Ghent children and city employees receive vegetarian meals on Thursdays. A great way to contribute to a healthier life-style and an ideal way to raise awareness about where our food is coming from.Surprisingly, Flemish Farmers organisation "Boerenbond" already criticised the initiative, saying the campaign implies that "eating meat is unhealty". Furthermore they find it incomprehensible that children are not given an alternative option to eat meat on a Thursday. What the Boerenbond fail to mention, is that on the other 4 days of the school week, children are not given an alternative option to eat a vegetarian meal either.What I find the most striking is that an organisation like "Boerenbond", that represents farmers who grow wheat, potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage and many other vegetables, would find it a bad thing to promote vegetables.

First pictures of Ciara

2011-06-04T15:09:00.006+02:00

After less than 64 hours Claudia and Ciara were already allowed to go home. Luckily we still had Caitlin's old Takata Bugaboo seat so transporting Ciara was not difficult.

Caitlin is already very proud of her little sister who gets to wear all her old clothes.

Ciara is geboren!

2011-05-30T11:02:00.000+02:00

Wij zijn heel trots om jullie de geboorte te melden van onze dochter Ciara (uitspraak: [kira]).

Ciara werd geboren op 29/5 om 18u07 en weegt 3,580 gram. Ze is 50,5 cm lang en maakt het net zoals haar moeder uitstekend.

Ciara (IPA: /ˈkɪərə/) is een populaire Ierse naam. Het is de vrouwelijke versie van de naam Ciarán, wat "zwart" betekent" in het Iers. De naam bestaat ook in de Engelse versies Keira or Kiera.

Proudly introducing...Ciara

2011-05-30T09:40:00.003+02:00

Great news! Ciara (pronunciation [kira] was born yesterday at 6:07 pm. She weighs 3 kg 580 grams and is 50,5 cm long. Get out your calculators to convert that to inches, stones, Watt and degrees Fahrenheit! :)

Mother and daughter are doing fine and send you peace and blue skies from Belgium.

Ciara (IPA: /ˈkɪərə/) is a popular Irish language female name and was tenth on the list of most popular names given to baby girls in Ireland in 2006. It is the feminine version of the name Ciarán, meaning "black" in Irish Gaelic, and was also the name of Saint Ciara, a seventh century Irish saint venerated by the Roman Catholic Church. The name's spelling has occasionally been Anglicized as Keira or Kiera.

Solar Impulse arrives in Brussels

2011-05-14T00:18:00.002+02:00

Today I saw the Solar Impulse fly over Grimbergen on its way to Brussels. Solar Impulse is a European long-range solar powered plane project, and hopes to succeed in the first circling of the earth with a piloted fixed-wing aircraft using only solar power.

On 13 May 2011, HB-SIA took off on its first international flight to Brussels (Zavantem) airport

Benefits of Breastfeeding

2011-03-16T00:27:00.013+01:00

Breast milk (as opposed to artificial milk that the food industry is trying to force upon us) has many benefits.

1. Superior nutrition

2. Less Diarrhea

3. Greater immune health

4. Higher Intelligence

5. Long term health effects

6. Fewer infections

7. Less atopy

8. Protection against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

9. Health Effects for mothers

10.Bonding

11.Hormone Release

12.Weight loss

13.Natural postpartum infertility

My Name is Fastolph Proudfoot

2011-03-08T09:52:00.001+01:00

You can find everything on Facebook. Most apps are of course total rubbish and a waste of time, but every now and then there is a little gem. Like this Hobbit Name Generator that generates...your Hobbit name, yes, how did you guess?

Anyway, I'm called Fastolph Proudfoot and please use that name from now on when you are addressing me. The Lord of the Rings wants it so.

Because the Facebook link does not seem to work I will put the link to the "real-world" website here: Hobbit Name Generator

Tom Waits Until Spring - A Review

2011-03-07T18:25:00.000+01:00

On Wednesday January 14th 2009 I went to the Roma, an old cinema in Borgerhout (Antwerp) that has been converted into a multi-cultural area. Multi-cultural because it offers many cultural events for different kinds of audiences. This time it was a tribute to Tom Waits, a so-called "fantastic" programme about Tom Waits in a Late Night smoky Bar.

The musicians were Antje De Boeck (voice) - a famous Flemish actress, Jef Neve (piano) and Rony Verbiest (accordeon). Tom Waits' voice can be described as a low, raw, almost rumbling voice. Very similar to Antje De Boeck's voice, somebody must have thought. I liked the result a lot.
However, the concert started differently from what I had expected. Antje De Boeck first brought a fairy-tale about the last boy in the world. You could sense that the audience didn't really know what to do with it either, but it became clear during the performance that this little boy represented Tom Waits who has his own peculiar way of looking at the world.

Then followed some entertainment that can only be described as perfect. Top musicians Jef Neve and Rony Verbiest brought the best of Tom Waits (replacing the saxophone with an accordeon) and even if it sometimes seemed that they lacked the routine of playing together, their spontaneity and craftmenship brought emotions of the highest level.

Of course Antje De Boeck is no professional singer, but some might say that neither is Tom Waits. She brought some of his classic pieces in a very intimate style (Tom Traubert's Blues, In the Neighbourhood...) and sometimes when you closed your eyes, it really sounded like Tom Waits up there on the stage. The way she moaned, whispered, rumbled really touched the right nerve.
If you are in Belgium, try to catch their act. A list of dates and places can be found in the Tom Waits Until Spring Agenda.

Mental Feng Shui

2011-03-07T16:23:00.000+01:00

Do you know Feng Shui? Feng shui - pronounced fehng-shway in English) is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to utilize the Laws of both heaven (astronomy) and Earth (geography) to help one improve life by receiving positive Qi.

The words feng shui literally translate as "wind-water" in English. This is a cultural shorthand taken from the following passage of the Zhangshu (Book of Burial) by Guo Pu of the Jin Dynasty.

Qi rides the wind and scatters, but is retained when encountering water.
Many modern enthusiasts claim that feng shui is the practice of arranging objects (such as furniture) to help people achieve their goals. More traditionally, feng shui is important in choosing a place to live and finding a burial site, along with agricultural planning.

I received another spam message, asking me to forward it to 21 people for good luck. I don't believe in that kind of stuff, but the lessons in the email are worth preserving.

Mental Feng Shui
There's some mighty fine advice in these words, even if you're not superstitious. This Lotus Touts has been sent to you for goo d luck from the Anthony Robbins organization. It has been sent around the world ten times so far.

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO.. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.

FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling..

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN! ... When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze .

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.

I'm tired of all those silly love songs

2011-03-07T15:07:00.000+01:00

this article was first published in February 2005, when I was

One more week and it's Saint Valentine again !
I'm a single person but I cannot help being slightly euphoric at the thought of all these wonderful warm people hugging each other and kissing and....oh, that sentimental feeling !

But have you noticed how almost all songs talk about love ? After I broke up with my girlfriend, every song seemed to talk to me. When driving home from her house after our final fight, the fist song was "Missing you" by Everything but the girl. And when I put in a CD, I had Natalia singing "I've only just begun to fight".
So maybe there is a higher force that is talking to me through the music on the radio. Have you ever thought that maybe your all life course is being mapped out by music ?

You know what, i'll put it to the test. I'm walking now to my radio, switch it on, and the song will tell me what I should do with this ex-girlfriend.

==> the song they are playing now on Radio 1 is called "she's no lady, she's my wife"...i'm not sure how to interpret this..

Aachen 6 - Nürnberg 2

2011-03-07T13:05:00.006+01:00

february 19th, 2009

I have never been a die-hard football fan, but I like a good game and have always followed the national and international football games with more than a passing interest. When I was still at primary school in Grimbergen, you had to choose between Anderlecht and Brugge, at that time the two most successful soccer teams in Belgium. I chose Club Brugge and with players like Jan Ceulemans and Raoul Lambert they were quite successful. Lately they have lost a lot of their charm and competitive edge, but I still follow their games on TV.

My wife is from Nürnberg and just like Club Brugge their football team is called "The Club" : 1. FC Nürnberg. This weekend they played against Aachen and since we live there, I went together with my father-in-law and brother-in-law. Unfortunately the "Club" did not play well at all, and we got a 6-2 trashing. It was freezing cold and it even started snowing towards the end.

Standing among the "Ultras" of Nürnberg was quite fun, and even when they were losing the game they kept up the good cheer and shouted abuse at Aachen players and umpire. Whenever the name of an Aachen player was mentioned over the stadium PA system, the Nürnberger Ultras shouted "arschl*ch", which means exactly what you think: A**.

Oh, one nice detail: at the end they announced how many litres alcohol-free Bitburg beer had been sold during the game: 1600 litres.

A letter from Monique - 13 years later

2011-03-07T12:02:00.000+01:00

I'm slowly putting all my belongings in boxes, since I will join my wife and daughter very soon in our new house here in Belgium. I stumbled across a letter from a penpal of mine, Monique. It was so funny to read again about our lives 13 years ago.

She had paid me a visit here in Grimbergen,somewhere in October 1996 and I took her to the Mamoet (our local youth club/pub), we went to a concert of "Boerenzonen op Speed" who had just released there first (and only) massive hit: "Vel tegen Vel" - Skin against Skin. We also went to a disco party, co-organized by my cousin Johan.
And here is a short extract of what Monique wrote to me : "I hear you have a computer at home. Do you also have internet? And what is so fun about it, I hear it's mostly waiting, waiting, waiting".
How things can change :-)

A quick visit to South England

2011-03-07T10:56:00.000+01:00

this entry deals with June 19th - June 23rd 2002

From June 19th till June 23rd 2002 I went to the south of England with a German friend of mine, Christine. We drove with my green Fiat Punto down to Calais, where we got on a boat from the SeaFrance company. In those days a 5-day ticket for 2 persons and a car cost 153 Euro. I wonder how much that would be now.
If my memory serves me well, we visited Dover, Rye, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury and we stopped at a friend's, Gary. I have to check for more information, as it is all a bit blurry at the moment, but I do remember visiting a chapel that was actually an ossuary.

Further research on the internet reveals that it was actually St Leonard’s Church in Hythe. Better known as “The Church with the Bones” due to the ossuary in the crypt. It is one of only two ossuaries in England (the other being in Rothwell, Northants) and contains 2,000 human skulls, 8,000 thighbones, a few jaw bones and other various artefacts. The skull and thighbones were usually kept as it was believed that it would ensure physical resurrection.

The exact origin of the bones is unclear, legend has it that they are the remains of Saxon soldiers killed in a battle fought nearby that were dug up when the existing church was built in 1080. A more likely explanation is that they were dug up and stored in the Middle Ages when it was customary to re-use burial plots.
I also remember we slept in a place called "The White House Farm". I'll try to find more details later.
Update: Christine contacted me and helped me remember some more details. I updated the blog accordingly.

My name is Lólindir Culnámo in Elvish

2011-03-07T10:47:00.000+01:00

You can find everything on Facebook. Most apps are of course total rubbish and a waste of time, but every now and then there is a little gem. Like this Elvish Name Generator that generates...you Elvish name, yes, how did you guess?

Anyway, I'm called Lólindir Culnámo and please use that name from now on when you are addressing me. The Lord of the Rings wants it so.

Because the Facebook link does not seem to work I will put the link to the "real-world" website here: The Elvish Name Generator

August - Pieter-Jan De Smet

2011-03-07T09:45:00.000+01:00

I was listening to Radio 1 on the way to work, and I heard a wonderful song with a great text: August, by Pieter-Jan Desmedt, a Belgian singer/songwriter and actor with Theater Zuidpool.

Here are some of the lyrics that really hit me :

"Fleur gives names to all the anomalies
That have bruised her petals and bruised her heart"

"It's August
And we're dying
little day by day
It's August
And we're trying
To kill our joys
With pain"

Pure poetry

Rostock and Warnemünde

2011-03-07T09:38:00.003+01:00

June 15th, 2009

After our visit in Lübeck we drove to Rostock where we would spend the night at Hampa's, a medical student who is just like us a member of BeWelcome.
The highway road from Lübeck to Rostock is quite boring and we were happy when we found the flat quickly, since Caitlin was getting fed up with being in her carseat all afternoon. Hampa's flat was right above an Italian restaurant and we met her flatmates. Hampa herself was not in Rostock that weekend, but we could use her room. We were not alone, however, as she has three cats who kept us company. I guess we can say that Caitlin is not allergic to cats

We ate some of the cake that Tinchen had prepared us, drank some tea and then we left for Warnemünde. The place really feels like a seaside resort, and everywhere were little stalls where you could buy fish (although they were closing by the time we got there).
We just took a stroll near the port, saw the three lighthouses and ate an icecream in an Italian restaurant.
Right at that moment the skies opened and there was a massive downpour. Luckily it ended by the time we finished our ice-cream. We then drove to Rostock for a quick visit by night (looking for an old light-house which we never found) and then it was time for bed.

Nokia 5800

2011-02-16T08:56:00.000+01:00

March 12th, 2009

I won a new Mobile Phone / GSM: The Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic. It is supposed to be Nokia's answer to Apple's iPhone and costs about 350€. Not bad for just making a little chat with Roos Van Acker on Studio Brussel, Flanders 'alternative' Radio Station. They had asked their public to send in a list of their favourite songs for every moment of the day. And my song "Drive" by R.E.M was choses as "ideal song to wait in a traffic jam".

They called me up one morning (when I was just waiting in a traffic jam) and we talked a couple of minutes about traffic, BeWelcome.org and life in general, and then they told me I was the proud owner of this new mobile phone. Since my old GSM (also a Nokia, not sure about the number since it doesn't say so on the cover, but I imagine it's a 3120) is getting a bit old.
I'm looking forward to my little playtoy...hopefully it arrives soon and I can tell you all about it.

2 Weeks without Internet

2011-02-15T10:55:00.000+01:00

March 20th, 2009

We are busy moving house and this will mean 2 weeks without Internet. In Aachen they stopped our telephone subscription with Deutsche Telekom, and here in Belgium it will take 2 weeks before Telenet will come and install the necessary material. And suddenly it is so obvious that I'm addicted to internet. I'm really suffering from cold turkey, and I even had problems finding a place to write this post.
2 weeks without reading my emails, no more information on Wikipedia or checking the news, and even part of my social contacts will be on stand-by.
It is amazing how much my life is being influenced by internet. I remember some time ago there was a call to stop using Facebook for one day. I participated in that, and it worked fine. But 2 weeks is probably too much...

I won a complete Photostudio on Ebay!

2011-02-14T12:21:00.000+01:00

Yes, after weeks of preparations, I managed to win my own perfect little photostudio on eBay for a fraction of the price. Thanks to some good Tips for Beginners I won the following:
Aurora XXL- Studioset Camray 300/300/300
The normal sales price is about 2000 euro (about 2600 dollar) and the best price ever on eBay had been 1000 euro (about 1300 dollar). Well, by putting my tips into practice (and being lucky that nobody was online on Easter Monday) I managed to get it for less than 600 euro (700 dollars).
First they wanted me to pay 200 euro transport costs, but in the end I called them and we settled on 40 euro

What am I getting for my 600 euro :
3x Aurora Camray C-300 Studioflashes
1x Aurora Fusion Softbox, 60x80cm
1x Aurora Strip Softbox, 70x150cm
2x Aurora Speedring mit Adapter Camray
3x WT-806 tripods AIR, 285cm
1x Aurora Studiobag
1x Aurora backgroundreflector
1x Aurora difusor
a lot of extra bits and pieces including extra lamps and reflectors.

Belgian Politicians are seducing women!

2011-02-13T10:19:00.000+01:00

On LevensLangLeren.be there were some tips & tricks on how to seduce women. The funny thing was that I received exactly one (1) reaction from a guy who asked me if there were any good books on how to seduce women.

I didn't think much about it, but now one year later that same guy contacted me again. He said he wanted me to remove his reaction from our website and threatened with legal actions if I didn't do it. Not a very nice way of asking me to do something, but I'm a good guy so I removed his name.

But now he complains that if you type his name in Google or on Yahoo, some links show up to his reaction. This is quite logical, as the web crawlers have of course found his name over the last year. And the funny thing? It turns out this guy is running for parliament for an extreme rightwing party...
I told him to complain to yahoo

My granny died today

2011-02-12T21:49:00.003+01:00

Today is a bad day. My granny died at age 92. My last grandparent. We had lunch together only yesterday, and she was doing fine, so it came as quite a shock. I have some wonderful memories of her, travelling to Austria every year for 12 years in a row. Life will not be the same without her. Rest in Peace, sweet Rose.

Caitlin is finally registered in Belgium

2011-02-12T10:17:00.000+01:00

It has taken us blood, sweat, tears and a lot of money, but our daughter is finally registered with the local authorities in Belgium. After receiving so much contradicting information regarding registration, nationality, health insurance and child benefits, we are finally seeing the end of the tunnel.

The list of problems was long, here some of the more urgent ones:
- In Germany they had a problem with her first name.
- In Belgium they cannot understand that my wife and I have the same surname
- In Belgium they don't accept the German 'Wedding Book'
- We needed a certified translation of such a simple thing as a wedding certificate, and in the end they did not accept it as we could not provide them with an original (a copy of the original, signed by the responsible authorities was not enough apparently).
- We couldn't get health insurance for Caitlin, as long as she was not registered.
- Child benefits gave us the same answer...but today I sent all the necessary information so I hope we'll be able to deal with that as well

Leise Peterle Leise - German Lullably

2011-02-11T10:11:00.000+01:00

1. Leise, Robin, leise,
der Mond geht auf die Reise.
Er hat ein weißes Pferd gezäumt,
das geht so still, als ob es träumt.
Leise, Robin, leise!

2. Stille, Robin, stille,
der Mond hat eine Brille.
Ein graues Wölkchen schob sich vor,
das sitzt ihm grad auf Nas und Ohr.
Stille, Robin, stille!

3. Träume, Robin, träume,
der Mond guckt durch die Bäume.
Ich glaube gar, nun bleibt er stehn,
um Peterle im Schlaf zu sehen.
Träume, Robin, träume!

4. Ruhe, Robin, ruhe,
der Mond hat goldene Schuhe.
Er hat sie schon bei Tag geputzt,
weil er sie ja nur nachts benutzt.
Ruhe, Robin, ruhe!

5. Schlafe, Robin, schlafe,
der Mond hat goldene Schafe.
Sie gehn am Himmel still und sacht
und sagen Robin "Gute Nacht!"
Schlafe, Robin, schlafe!

Caitlin's Sleep Routine

2011-02-11T08:10:00.001+01:00

We created a simple sleep routine for Caitlin. Around 8pm we take her up, change her diapers, put on her pyjamas and sleeping bag, and give her a final serving of breast milk.
Then she gets a cuddle from my wife and I, and we put her to bed. Next we sing a German lullaby called Leise, Peterle, Leise and tell her we love.
Sometimes it works, and she falls asleep, something she needs a top-up of breast milk.

Caitlin at the Osteopath

2011-02-10T18:50:00.000+01:00

Caitlin is doing fine. She is three months old now and a happy, active, fun baby. However there was one thing we were a bit worried about. It became clear that she always had an inclination to turn her head to the right. She would never turn her head to the left out of her own will, and when we tried to force her gently in the other direction, her head would always turn back to the right or middle position.

After the U4 (the German medical examination for babies who are 3 months old) the doctor said that Caitlin's head was starting to show signs of flattening and we should contact an osteopath or enrol in physiotherapy to help her turn her head more to the left. Friends of ours directed us to an osteopath who lives near us, and he examined Caitlin and softly touched her vertebra. Nothing like the "neck-cracking" we normally associate osteopathy with.

He found out her C2 vertrebra was blocked on the right side, and managed to unblock it. Now it is up to us to make sure she looks in all directions. The osteopath is however confident that Caitlin will have no permanent problems because of this.

Improve your chances on eBay

2011-02-10T17:34:00.000+01:00

Have you also tried to win an auction on eBay but failed because somebody beat you in the last second? Fortunately there are some things you can do to improve your chances.

Tip 1 : Know the value of your product
Try to figure out the value of your product by checking previous biddings. You can find these with 'advanced search' and choose 'show completed listings only'.

Tip 2 : Know your limits
Make sure that your maximum offer is really the maximum you want to buy. This will prevent you from being outbidded in the last second.
Tip 3 : Keep up to date
eBay has the possibility to warn you of a status change by sms or mail. Check your e-maikl messages regularly and install some of the eBay tools.

Tip 4 : Use My eBay
Check your status on My Ebay, so you are sure you are still in the lead.

Tip 5 : Use the eBay toolbar
With the eBay-toolbar you can follow objects, even when you are not logged in on eBay. This is what you can receive on your desktop::
- Messages when you are being outbidded.
- Messages about objects that you are following.
- Messages about your search criteria

Tartex: the ideal vegetarian breakfast

2011-02-10T11:06:00.000+01:00

Last year my wife and I travelled with BeWelcome to Linz in Austria, and were warmly welcomed by another member of this hospitality exchange network. He was vegan, and in the morning served us a delicious breakfast made up entirely of products that contained no animal products of any kind (so no milk, no eggs, no cheese). All the "traditional" ingredients that would contain animal products were replaced by tofu, seitan, soy milk and similar food items.

And now we moved back to Grimbergen and we found a good Bioshop just around the corner. There they also stock vegetarian food, including the famous Tartex organic patés. I'm not sure they are 100% vegan, but they taste deliciously and come in 19 different flavours like Mushroom and Herb Meadow.
So what are you waiting for? Try some healthy organic breakfast instead of smoked ham with eggs...

A Bongo Box for a Healthy Lunch

2011-02-10T09:07:00.001+01:00

I recently participated in a competition for Yoplait, a dairy company. I won a Bongo Box for a healthy lunch somewhere in Belgium. A Bongo box is a very popular concept in Belgium, that has 3 parts:
1) the box: Here you can see what kind of gift the box contains. There are many different kinds of arrangments, for example a wine-tasting evening, a weekend in a luxury hotel, or a massage
2) the book: A list with all the participating companies with explanations about the gifts.
3) the voucher: Which should be handed over to the participating company.

A Tribute to Madonna

2011-02-10T06:09:00.000+01:00

On Sunday I went to Evergem (near Ghent) for the second show of A Tribute to Madonna Dancing Queen, an amazing spectacular spectacular tribute to the Queen of Pop. I had already participated in the first show (not as a dancer of course, but as a photographer) and this time they were going to Flanders to perform in a cultural centre.

The first time i ran around all the time, taking pictures wherever I could. This time the roles were better divided and I arrived around 4pm to register the rehearsals. You could already feel the tension rising and small (or bigger) problems with costumes, dvd players and lighting caused visible stress among all the volunteers and dancers/singers.

I'm quite happy about the pictures I took during rehearsals, as you can be like a fly on the wall and steal great shots. I uploaded some pictures on a English-speaking blog here or on my Facebook account.
During the show I agreed to take pictures from far away while another photographer (Alain) took close-ups. The lighting was not very good and even with my Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens I had problems getting sharp pictures, even with my tripod. I hope my colleague had more luck. Still, i managed to get some good photographs at the end of each choreography when the music stopped and the dancers froze.
In the end, I was amazed at the professionalism, the fun and the commitment of all the participants. Congratulations to everybody!

A bag full of bio goodies

2011-02-09T21:02:00.000+01:00

Claudia does her shopping at a biological farm near our house. When they offered her a customer card, the shop assistent discovered she was the 1000th unique client, and today they had a small reception for her at the farm. There were some journalists, and she got a nice hamper filled with vegetarian and bio food.

Here is a list of all the nice things we will eat in the weeks to come:
- vegan Panda licorice
- muesli cookies
- apple & pear juice
- Allos Amaranth chocolate muesli
- Women's Balance Yogi tea
- La Bio Idea - Minutini pasta con carotta
- Lima tomato/basil crunchies
- Pajottenlander apple/pear juice
- Pizzolato organic prosecco
- De Rit peanut butter cookies
- Ekoland wallnuts
- Whole Earth organic sparkling apple & raspberry fruit juice
...and lots more!

Finished painting, finally!

2011-02-09T20:02:00.000+01:00

After a week of intense painting, we finally put the final stroke on the walls in our new house. Still one week to go before we have the big move, but at least one part of the work is done. We chose colours from the Coloresdelmuno range of Levis. Havana Red in the living room, Nepal blue in the kitchen, and Java green in my study. Oh, and let's not forget BeWelcome.org orange in the hallway. I can't wait to see the rooms in full glory once we moved our furniture.

How to Make Yoghurt

2011-02-09T19:04:00.000+01:00

I'm going frugal and decided it was time to make my own yoghurt. Just a little bit of left-over yoghurt and some milk will produce loads of yoghurt.

Here are the instructions, I hope you'll give it a try as well:
Yogurt is a healthy food that can be made at home. One way to make it is to first buy some yogurt from a store or purchase dry yogurt culture. Add two small spoonfuls of the yogurt to two cups of milk. This will be the starter for your own yogurt. A cup is about 25 centilitres.

When making yogurt, it is very important to have clean equipment, clean hands and good temperature control.
Pour eight cups of milk into a large cooking pot. Heat the milk to eighty-five degrees Celsius. Then cool the milk quickly to forty-three degrees. To do this, you can put the cooking pot in cool water.
Keep the yogurt at forty-three degrees and add one-half cup of the starter. The remaining starter can be kept for later use. If you want a thicker yogurt, you can also add one-third of a cup of dry milk.
Cover the pot and keep it at a temperature of forty to forty-five degrees Celsius for four to six hours. After that, your homemade yogurt is ready. It can be left at room temperature for up to twelve hours if you like a stronger taste.

You can add fruit, nuts, honey or spices.
Source: "how to make yoghurt" leaflet from our local bioshop

I kissed Katy Perry and she liked it!

2011-02-09T18:01:00.000+01:00

March 7th, 2009

Tonight I saw Katy Perry in concert, and I liked it. But more than that, I liked the whole atmosphere around the show. It started with watching the public line up to get into the concert hall at the AB (Ancienne Belgique) in Brussels, Belgium. I guess the average age was 15 or 16 years, and I was amazed to see how young kids are nowadays at concerts. When I was that age, the best I could hope for was to go on an organized excursion to Torhout/Werchter, or see maybe a folk group (Kadril) or a comedian (Urbanus). But nowadays it seems that every 14 or 15 year old has been to concerts all their lives, starting with going to K3 shows and ending up seeing the latest internet hypes like Lily Allen or Katy Perry.

The support group was called 3OH!3 from Colorado, an electronica hiphop band known for their funny skits and outrageous costumes. It seemed they were quite popular, as everybody was dancing to their music and shouting the lyrics to the songs.

And then the moment came that everybody was waiting for: the first concert on Belgium soil by Katy Perry, America's latest teen-sensation. Queen's 'Killer Queen' came through the speakers and K.Perry ran onto the stage dressed in a pink/green outfit. Katy is famous for her "vintage style" and her clotes looked like something my mum might have worn when she was 16. Lots of colours, lots of funny touches without getting too kitschy. Except for her diamond-studded microphone, that was a bit over the top.

The stage looked fabulous, with a giant inflatable cat (called Kitty Purr) and lots of fruit. Much tastier than an inflatable pig!

The first song, Fingerprints, got the crowd wild and then the most amazing thing happened. Instead of clapping their hand or dancing or swinging (like we used to do in the good old days), the majority of the audience got out their mobile phones or cameras and started taking pictures. But because modern cameras have screens, I saw a sea of screens in front of me, all displaying Katy. A surreal experience and proof that I am no longer in touch with the modern music scene. Everybody was more busy with sending sound bites of the concert to their friends, than actually enjoying the show.

The show was well executed, with a good mix of popular tunes and some new stuff. One of her biggest hits, Hot 'n' Cold was played early on in the show, and the little chats between the songs were a bit corny and clearly aimed at younger people.

Another amazing thing was that the audience actually let her play slow, intimate and accoustic stuff.
And in the end she threw all her fruit (giant inflatable strawberries) in the audience and she stage dived during "I kissed a girl", her biggest hit and clearly what everybody was waiting for. This anthem for bi-curious girls and players alike got the whole hall dancing and everybody around me tried to kiss Katy Perry as she stage dived towards us. Some of us succeeded

Eurovision Song Contest 2009

2011-02-09T17:03:00.000+01:00

With nothing better to do (and after dealing with some heavy financial calculations) we decided to sit down for the Eurosong Festival 2009, which this year is being held in gay-unfriendly Russia. This song contest (often called the Kitsch and Camp-festival of the year) brings us 25 songs from as many countries.

Here my views on some of the contestants:
- Finland: up-tempo song with a silly rapper, and I'm afraid they won't manage the same surprise Lordi did a couple of years ago
- Turkey: Flemish singer Hadise delivered a good performance, although the song was a bit weak. Still I think a Top 5 position is possible
- Germany: Very silly song, but with a gorgeous Dita Von Teese. What else did you expect from a group called 'Alex Swings Oscar Sings'
- Estonia: a beautiful singer with a beautiful voice...unfortunately not the kind of song that will win the Eurovision Song Festival
- Ukraine: My favourite, a very kitschy up-tempo song with beautiful women, Roman gladiators and funny lyrics. My favourite for the first place.

Creating our own little bio garden...

2011-02-09T16:59:00.000+01:00

Today we started work on our own little bio garden. We selected a patch in our garden where there is enough sun and it's still not too windy. Then we started digging a 15 cm deep trench and planted pumpkins, sun flowers, radishes, zucchini and eruca sativa (no, not THAT kind of sativa, you naughty people), better known as rocket or arugula.

Finally we watered everything thoroughly, and now we are patiently waiting for July or August to see the results.
If you want some nice pumpkin soup, be sure to book in advance.

ICE = In Case of Emergency

2011-02-09T15:51:00.000+01:00

Update: Although the idea of putting an emergecy number in your mobile makes sense, you should ALWAYS first put the ICE number on a piece of paper in your wallet. Thanks Bartek for clarifying that.

In case of emergency (ICE) is a program that enables first responders, such as paramedics, firefighters, and police officers, to identify victims and contact their next of kin to obtain important medical information. The program was conceived in the mid-2000s and promoted by British paramedic Bob Brotchie in May 2005.
It encourages people to enter emergency contacts in their cell phone address book under the name "ICE". Alternately, a person can list multiple emergency contacts as "ICE1", "ICE2", etc. The popularity of the program has spread across Europe and Australia, and has started to grow into North America.

When interviewed on July 12, 2005 on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Brotchie said:
"I was reflecting on some difficult calls I've attended, where people were unable to speak to me through injury or illness and we were unable to find out who they were. I discovered that many people, obviously, carry mobile phones and we were using them to discover who they were. It occurred to me that if we had a uniform approach to searching inside a mobile phone for an emergency contact then that would make it easier for everyone."

So what are you waiting for? Put those ICE numbers in your wallet and in your mobile phones NOW!
source: emails, Wikipedia.org

Looking for a service provider in Belgium

2011-02-09T14:59:00.000+01:00

March 12th, 2009

We have been looking for a good service provider here in Belgium for our telephone, internet and television needs. Belgium is a special country, where different providers exist in different parts of the country. You will not find Voo in Flanders, and I doubt you will find Telenet in Wallonia.

Luckily we had some kind of shopping list, because otherwise it would have been impossible to make a selection. Every provider has different offers and it's next to impossible to compare them.
We first check the internet for information, saw some providers like Belgacom and TV Vlaanderen at the Food Fair in November 2008, and started making a list of all our needs.

For telephone we needed a subscription that would allow us to call all fixed telephone numbers for free, if possible also the European ones. Since my wife is German, she would like to stay in touch with her parents in Germany. Skype was an option, but since not everybody has skype or is available on the internet, we decided to look for a "real" telephone.

For internet we needed a quick wifi-connection, but no real heavey upload or download limits. We don't dowload movies, so that saves on the budget.

For television we first thought of getting just plain old cable television. I haven't had a television for 7 years now, so I didn't miss a lot and I'm quite happy with just 4 channels. But after seeing the quality and the offer, we decided to put Digital Television on our "nice to have" list.

After careful consideration and by talking to other users, we immediately removed TV Vlaanderen from our list, since they could not provide us with a full package. Belgacom was an option, but their difficult price structure and the bad feedback we received, made us choose Telenet. They have a Golden Shake offer that will not only give us digital TV, internet and free telephone calls to 35 European countries for just 58 €, but it also comes with a digital HD recorder of 320 GB. That should be sufficient.
We are now waiting for the people of Infrax to come and install the cable, and then we can go for it. We'll keep you posted

Is our daughter a demon?

2011-02-09T13:57:00.000+01:00

We have an angel of a daughter, but sometimes I wonder if we shouldn't call the Exorcist.
Some of her behaviour makes me think she might be possessed by a demon.

The evidence?
1. She talks in a strange and ancient language, that nobody around us can understand. Sometimes it even sounds like she is talking backwards! And now and again she mutters "Ba'al"
2. Just as in the movie The Exorcist, she can turn her head almost completely around. Very creepy
3. Sometimes she spits and vomits with such a force, that it would push a grown man from his bike!
4. She sees dead people, I'm sure of it. Sometimes she just looks through me, or she sees things that nobody else sees. She can look at the wall and suddenly start to laugh, probably because a ghost told a very funny story.
5. She can put her feet almost over her head, and curl her toes like a wild animal
6. When she cries, it is like something we have never heard before.
and the biggest proof:
7. I just put on "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones, and she started to move frantically and shouted "whoo, whoo, ... whoo, whoo"

My Name is Lushikatome

2011-02-09T12:58:00.000+01:00

I received the following note from a friend of mine through Facebook:
Your name is Lushikatome
Here are the instructions if you also want to find out your name:
For the instructions, add your name on the list and simply spell out your name using the given Japanese letter- translations below. Have fun. (how for this actually is based on something real I have no idea but I found it fun to do )

TRANSLATION:
A - ka
B - tu
C - mi
D - te
E - ku
F - lu
G - ji
H - ri
I - ki
J - zu
K - me
L - ta
M - rin
N - to
O - mo
P - no
Q - ke
R - shi
S - ari
T - chi
U - do
V - ru
W - mei
X - na
Y - fu
Z - zi

Rostock and Warnemünde

2011-02-09T11:56:00.000+01:00

After our visit in Lübeck we drove to Rostock where we would spend the night at Hampa's, a medical student who is just like us a member of BeWelcome.
The highway road from Lübeck to Rostock is quite boring and we were happy when we found the flat quickly, since Caitlin was getting fed up with being in her carseat all afternoon. Hampa's flat was right above an Italian restaurant and we met her flatmates. Hampa herself was not in Rostock that weekend, but we could use her room. We were not alone, however, as she has three cats who kept us company. I guess we can say that Caitlin is not allergic to cats

We ate some of the cake that Tinchen had prepared us, drank some tea and then we left for Warnemünde. The place really feels like a seaside resort, and everywhere were little stalls where you could buy fish (although they were closing by the time we got there).

We just took a stroll near the port, saw the three lighthouses and ate an icecream in an Italian restaurant.
Right at that moment the skies opened and there was a massive downpour. Luckily it ended by the time we finished our ice-cream. We then drove to Rostock for a quick visit by night (looking for an old light-house which we never found) and then it was time for bed.

Katy Perry in the AB - Brussels

2011-02-09T11:09:00.002+01:00

March 4th, 2009

On Saturday March 7th Katy Perry will give a concert in the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels. Katy Perry is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Born in California to pastor parents, she grew up listening to gospel music and singing in church. Katy Perry rose to fame in 2007 with her internet hit "Ur So Gay", and later scored in 2008 her breakthrough single "I Kissed a Girl".
I have a ticket but am not sure yet if I can make it. If anybody is interested, I might sell it for € 35. Seeing the concert has been sold out for over a month now, it might be a good deal.

Lübeck: History, Architecture, Marsipan

2011-02-09T11:00:00.000+01:00

The night in the Etap room was quite comfortable with Caitlin between us, since the travel bed would not have fitted in the room. We decided from now on to leave the travel bed in the car, since Caitlin was fine and the disassembling of the bed causes only frustration and arguments.

The breakfast we had booked for 6 euro extra was a buffet consisting of bread with the usual jams and spreads, some sausages, cereals, yoghurt, cheese, juice; tea; coffee. Not what you would get in a regular hotel, but much better than the 2 croissants and jam that you get in a Formula 1 hotel or most Italian hotels. It was filling but not special. Even though we were not too far from the city centre, we decided to look for a parking closer to the centre. Especially with the clouds hanging over our heads. Tinchen had given us a good tip where to park, but we decided to try for a parking near to the famous Holsten Tor.
We were lucky enough to find one without any time limit and got ready for some serious sight-seeing. We unpacked and assembled our Bugaboo and strangely could not move it a single centimeter! After some experiments and puzzling we found that the cable for the brakes was wound around a knob and thus blocked the brakes. What a relief! We headed for the Holsten Tor and bought a small map for € 0,90 with a (very limited) guided tour which we followed as much as possible. Normally the tour would take us 2 hours, but because we went inside many of the landmarks, we spend most of the day.

The Holsten Tor is a late Brick Gothic city gate, UNESCO World Heritage Site and considered a major landmark of Lübeck.

Other landmarks we visited were The Town Hall, The Lübecker Dom and Maria Church, Günter Grass's house, the Salzspeicher (historic warehouses where salt delivered from Lüneburg awaited shipment to Baltic ports) and the Hospital of the Holy Spirit (one of the oldest social institutions of Lübeck).
We took a break at a medieval market, where all the shop assistants were dressed in ancient robes and sold strange things like lutes, mead (alcoholic beverage made of honey) and roasted pig.

In the end we made a quick stop at the factory outlet of Niederegger, a worldwide acknowledged producer of marzipan and sweets. They had a 50% off sale for Easter products, so we bought some stuff for during the rest of our trip.
Next stop: Rostock!

PhotoCompetition about France

2011-02-09T10:48:00.000+01:00

I am participating (together with my Thorgal67) in a PhotoCompetion about France.
The idea is that you send in maximum 4 picture (one per category) in 4 categories :
1. Nature & Sport
2. Fun and Party Time
3. Fashion & Culture
4. Relax

Illegal Substances

2011-02-09T10:38:00.000+01:00

Tonight I will take a bath in a mixture of illegal substances. We got a bottle of Dr. Kneipp's Opium and Hemp bath oil which contains Cannabis Sativa Oil and Papaver Somniferum. According to the leaflet the oil will "relax both body and mind".

Sebastian Kneipp (May 17, 1821, Stephansried, Germany – June 17, 1897 in Bad Wörishofen) was a Bavarian priest and one of the founders of the Naturopathic medicine movement. He is most commonly associated with the "Kneipp Cure" form of hydrotherapy, a system of healing involving the application of water through various methods, temperatures and pressures.

In Norway he is mostly known for his bread recipe based on whole wheat. Kneipbrød (Kneipp Bread) is the most commonly eaten bread in Norway.

Although most commonly associated with one area of Naturopathic medicine, Kneipp was the proponent of an entire system of healing, which rested on five main tenets:
- Hydrotherapy
- Herbalism – The use of botanical medicines.
- Exercise
- Nutrition - A wholesome diet of whole grains, fruits & vegetables with limited meat
- Spirituality - Kneipp believed that a healthy mind begot a healthy person
During his time in Bad Wörishofen, Kneipp was able to counsel many people. Tens of thousands came from all over the world to receive his healing advice. He was the author of the books "My Water Cure", "Thus Shalt Thou Live", and "My Will".
source: Wikipedia

My first BBQ

2011-02-09T09:55:00.001+01:00

I have never owned a barbecue in my life. Bad experiences at friends and an intolerance to unhealthy, burned and greasy food are probably to blame. But Claudia and I wanted to buy at least one item together (since we already had almost everything) so the only item left on the list was...a Barbecue:)

Now that we have a garden, friends, and a fridge filled with yummy stuff, we decided to throw a small barbecue party for 7 or 8 friends who happened to be around on this very day.
I thought putting up the BBQ would not be a problem, providing the pieces didn't need holes to be drilled or none of the parts were missing...and of course the instruction manuel should be at least in English (not in Korean) and straightforward. Unfortunately, it wasn't. All the parts were there, that was not the problem, but in the end I was left with 2 plastic parts, 4 metal bits, 2 hooks and one screw. No explanation was given in the manual what those items should do.

With a bit of logic I deduced that the plastic was for the legs, the metal for protection, the hooks for the grill plate and the screw...well, i guess for screwing :)
Ok guys, the BBQ is up and quite stable. Let's grill the zucchini to death!

January 3rd: Fake Cupcakes

2011-01-24T00:01:00.001+01:00

My wife loves baking, but also sewing. So now she is combining both: making cupcakes from cloth. She also makes fake bananas, raspberries, turkey and carrots. Oh, and her fake omelets are a feast for the eyes (as long as you don't try to eat them).

If you came her to look for a real cupcake recipe, why not try the following:

Vegan Cupcake Recipe

Ingredients

15 ml apple cider vinegar
355 ml almond milk
250 g all-purpose flour
200 g white sugar
9 g baking powder
2 g baking soda
3 g salt
120 ml coconut oil, warmed until liquid
6 ml vanilla extract

Instructions

- Preheat oven to 175 C)
- Grease two 12 cup muffin pans or line with 18 paper baking cups.
- Measure the apple cider vinegar into a 2 cup measuring cup.
- Fill with almond milk to make 1 1/2 cups. Let stand until curdled, about 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. - - In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond milk mixture, coconut oil and vanilla.

- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Cool in the pan set over a wire rack. When cool, arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter. Frost with desired frosting.

January 2nd: The Backmeisters

2011-01-23T22:37:00.003+01:00

Since we got a baking machine we are getting fresh home-made bread every two or three days. With olives, with peppers or just with spices (chili, pizza, paprika)...
The house smells nice, the flour from Aldi Süd makes for delicious bread (you can mix it as well) and we never have to eat stale bread.

January 1st: Little Drummer Girl

2011-01-13T18:23:00.003+01:00

Eat your heart out, Ringo Starr! A new drum sensation is hitting the streets, banging the bongos like a little monkey...

Project 365: One Photo A Day

2011-01-13T16:31:00.002+01:00

We are starting a new project: One Photo A Day. As you may deduce from the title, we will try to take one picture every day in 2011 and upload it here. It can be something that happened at work, an object we found interesting or a memorable situation.

Proudly introducing...

2011-01-10T16:25:00.002+01:00

Great news! Our little family will soon be extended with another baby. Everything is going fine and we are all looking forward to May 2011 when she will be born. The doctor is quite convinced it will be a girl, and our gut feeling tells us he is probably right.

We'll keep you posted and can hopefully publish some nice pictures. The scan at the beginning of our post is not so clear unfortunately.

The beer tasted like nectar

2010-11-01T15:40:00.005+01:00

When cleaning I came accross a letter from a pen-pal. It was fun reading again what she thought and did in June 1999, more than 10 years ago.

I wonder if she will be able to figure out it was her who wrote it, so I'll publish part of her letter here (don't worry, I'm leaving out all the juicy bits).

"Last month I went to *** for my friend's wedding. That was a lot of fun. I hung out with my girlfriends and one day I made a trip to *** to see friends there. It's the only time I got drunk. I know I was drunk because I kept saying that the beer tasted like nectar. That's a sure sign of intoxication.

When flying back I changed planes from a big one to a 19-seat "puddle jumper". We flew into a big dark cloud and the plane rocked and bobbed. I thought for sure that we'd crash. Sometimes it's nice to be wrong."

So, do you recognize yourself?

Movement School in Grimbergen

2010-10-17T21:38:00.000+02:00

Today I went for the first time with our daughter to the movement school in Grimbergen. Every Sunday children from the age of 1,5 years can participate in group sessions. With the aid of balloons, carpets, toys, rings, hoops and much much more they explore their psychomotricity.

Ticket for sale for U2, Brussels

2010-09-19T20:00:00.003+02:00

Wednesday September 22 U2 will play for an audience of 70,000 people at the Koning Boudewijnstadion in Brussels. I still have one ticket for sale. Just contact me here with your telephone number and email address if you are interested. The ticket is for Tribune 4 G, row 31

My Godson Niels

2010-09-13T19:19:00.003+02:00

On August 30th, 2010, my brother and my sister-in-law became the proud parents of Niels, a small but healthy bundle of joy. At only 1,630 kg and 43,5 cm, you can hardly call him a new Harlem Globetrotter. But my one and only godson is quickly gaining weight and will surely catch up with my brother in no time.

Best wishes to the lucky mother and father of Niels, and I hope I'll be an excellent Godfather to him. Godfather, imagine that :) I will make him an offer he can't refuse.

Grimbergen Funfair

2010-09-04T14:22:00.003+02:00

Grimbergen Centre has two funfairs : one in May (when there is also the Sint-Servaas Procession) and one in September (which coincides with the Yearly Market when cattle is sold). This year the festivities have been spread over 4 days (as opposed to the normal 3 days). Activities include the traditional fun fair (bumper cars, speed rides, roller coasters, chip shops and much much more) but also animal exhibitions, sheep dog training, horse-riding, market stalls etc.

It was our daughter's first fun fair, and she enjoyed herself on the merry-go-round. It was also nice to bump into old friends, family and acquaintances.

A day out with Otto Dix, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Max Pechstein

2010-07-16T00:23:00.003+02:00

On Saturday I will visit the famous Museum der Phantasie (aka. Buchheim-Museum), a museum in Bernried am Starnberger See. Named after Lothar-Günther Buchheim (writer of Das Boot), whose art collection it holds, it was opened to the public on 23 May 2001.

The building, designed by the architectural firm Behnisch, Behnisch & Partner, was completed in October 1999. It encompasses around 4,000 square meters and is designed to resemble a ship, with a jetty-like balcony extending out over the Starnberger See. In the surrounding park various sculptures are displayed.

The museum holds Buchheim's collection of expressionist art, with works by Erich Heckel, Emil Nolde, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Pechstein, and so forth. It also displays examples of folk art, African art, and Asian art which Buchheim collected during his travels. Paintings by Buchheim himself are also on display.

Source : wikipedia.org

Wedding games

2010-03-31T00:02:00.004+02:00

I have had the pleasure of having been invited to some German weddings, and I have to say they know how to throw a party and organize games and activities. Maybe it has to do with the kind of friends we have, but often they are very creative. Here are three examples of how they manage to bring fun to the party.

1. A personalized wine cellar

The idea is simple: collect the e-mail addresses or telephone numbers of everybody who has been invited to the wedding, and ask them to bring a bottle of their favorite drink. Ask them to put a personalized sticker or picture on the lable of the bottle, and make or buy a wine rack in which to collect all the bottles during the party

Everytime the bride and groom open a bottle, they will remember the person who gave the bottle.

2. The BeWelcome / Hospitality Tile

Smash a big tile (50cm on 50cm) in pieces (as many pieces as there are couples present at the wedding) and give each couple one tile. The bride and groom get a wooden frame (also 50 x 50) and they have to collect the pieces by visiting the other couples during the next year

3. Handy-men

Every couple that has been invited, should perform some task for the bride and groom. This could be a task they choose themselves, or one that they have to pick blindfolded. The tasks could be for example baking a cake for the bride and groom, or washing the windows, or taking them to the cinema.

Tom Waits!

2010-03-30T00:53:00.002+02:00

We found the perfect opening song for our wedding: Little Trip (to heaven) by Tom Waits. Both Claudia and I are big fans of him, and the lyrics fit very well to our wedding preparations. Furthermore the song is easy to dance to :)

a short excerpt:
"I don't need to take no trip to outer space
All I have to do is look at your face
And before I know it I'm in orbit around you
I thank my lucky stars that I found you"

Caitlin loves Jim Morrison

2010-03-08T18:15:00.002+01:00

We were watching an episode of Classic Albums, a documentary series about pop and rock albums. This week's episode was about the debut album by The Doors. Caitlin was so fascinated when she saw Jim Morrison on screen. When he started singing Break on Through (to the Other Side) she completely freaked out. I'm sure she's going to be a beat poet :)

Looking for a First Dance Song

2010-03-05T10:40:00.002+01:00

We are getting married (again LOL) on March 27th, and we are looking for a good First Dance Song (aka Wedding Dance Song). We don't care too much for those traditional songs (I would Die for You, Unchained Melody, ....) but are looking for something a bit more alternative.

Do you have some good suggestions? Please keep in mind that the lyrics should at least radiate happiness. So no "One" by U2, "Everybody Hurts" by REM or 'Papa was a Rolling Stone' :)

Oh, and I heard somebody got married with "Please Release me, let me go...", I can assure you: that is NOT a good opening song!

Claudia wins the France Photoguide competition

2010-02-22T13:37:00.004+01:00

Great news! Claudia won first prize in the France Photoguide Competition, with her "Relax" photo taken in Etretat.

First prize is a week's holiday in which to discover France, from East to West!

- 1 weekend to discover Strasbourg: 3 nights in a double room including breakfast and 2 Strasbourg passes

- 3 days in Paris: a stay of 2 nights, including breakfast

- 3 days in St Malo: 2 nights in a youth hostel (double room, breakfast included) and a Sensation pass for a nautical activity of your choice;

Eurostar - A Bad Experience

2010-02-12T13:22:00.004+01:00

I would like to share with you a bad experience I had with a competition organized by Eurostar on Facebook. The competition rules were very easy : Upload a picture or a quote with regard to "London & Love", and post it on their facebook fanpage. The 14 members who had the highest number of votes, would win. It specifically warned contestants to make sure their entry was about London & Love, otherwise they would be disqualified.

I invited all my friends, bullied them into voting for my picture (which i'm happy to say was not a silly snapshot but a very nice picture) and I ended up 15th. Ok, so I lost. It's not the end of the world. 14 others scored better, right? Well, not really. Out of the 14 winners, at least 2 did not refer to London AND love, and one didn't even have ANY reference to either love or London.

According to the rules, they should have been disqualified, which would also mean that my picture would have won. So you can say I have been cheated out of 2 train tickets.

I have tried to contact Eurostar, but they "refuse to discuss the competition". So I will take it one level higher, and contact Test Aankoop/Test Achat.

If anybody else feels he has been cheated, you can always contact me here below.

Laura Veirs in Concert

2010-02-02T00:18:00.008+01:00

Photo: copyright David Belisle

Last night I went to a Laura Veirs' concert in the Ancienne Belgique (AB) in Brussels. We got 3 concerts for the price of one. That is the great thing about Brussels, concert prices are still reasonable. For 12 euro you can see an upcoming band, and the big groups will only set you about 30 to 40 euro back. I remember seeing Crowded House for 20 euro, Randy Newman will be appearing in the AB for 'only' 34€ and I managed to get tickets to the U2 concert for 35 euro.

Last night we first had a concert by The Old Believers. Normally this is a duo, but today only Nelson Kempf found the way to the AB Club. He started with an a capella song, followed by a wonderfully pretty song about his granny (called appropiately "Granny's Song". It was nice to see this kid with his guitar, a bit shy in this intimate club. He's not the most talkative performer we have seen, and his songs sometimes seem to be unfinished little stories, but his careless attitude won the hearts of the audience and he even made them sing a song with him (the highlight of his performace IMHO)

The second 'group' was called Cataldo, and again only one member turned up: Eric Anderson. He looks a bit like that other famous singer/songwriter whose name starts with an E. The same beard, similar voice and the same simple honest songs. I loved "Wedding Cake" and especially "My heart is calling/following". Cataldo is a group to keep an eye out for.

And then it was time for Laura Veirs and band...a band that consisted of the previous two guitar players (Eric and Nelson) and Alex Guy (who did not look at all like a guy) on the violin/viola. Laura Veirs was wearing a polkadot pregnancy dress (she's due in April) but that didn't stop her from rocking on a great Danelectro guitar (model '59 if i'm not mistaken). She played some songs from her new album July Flame, including the radio hit (in Belgium) "Wide-eyed, Legless". Both in appearance and style she reminded me of Suzanne Vega, with a twist of Tori Amos for good measure. A very pleasant concert (although too short). I also missed my favourite song "Galaxies"...but maybe that was because I was mesmerized by the wonderful poetic atmosphere?

Getting Maried...Again

2010-02-01T23:22:00.002+01:00

Claudia and I got married almost 2 years ago, but we decided to do it again. Not that we got divorced or anything, but last time it was a very small, sober ceremony. When we got married in Aachen we just invited our parents and brothers. But this time we want to share our happiness with everyone we love. So if you happen to be in Grimbergen on March 27th, why not drop by for a drink?

The schedule so far is :

- Church service at 4 pm in the Grimbergen basilica
- From 5pm till 6.30 pm an intimate reception service at my mum's shop, Abdijstraat 17 (100 metres from the church)

Please let us know if you will attend this. We'd love to see you

Laura Veirs - AB

2010-01-29T11:05:00.003+01:00

I have two tickets to the Laura Veirs concert in the Ancienne Belgique (AB) here in Brussels. For those of you who have never heard of her: Laura is an American singer-songwriter from Colorado who lives in Oregon. Her first album was recorded live and featured just her voice and guitar. Other albums are more "band-based" accompanied by veteran musicians such as Bill Frisell, Amy Denio and Fred Chalenor.

Check out her website on Laura Veirs where you can download two free songs from her latest album "July Flame"

Picture : copyright David Belisle

Living in the Bermuda Triangle

2010-01-24T17:32:00.003+01:00

Sometims it feels like we are living in the Bermunda Triangle, and everything is disappearing.

At the moment we are looking for the following missing stuff:

- my jacket
- Claudia's Jewel box
- Caitlin's doll
- Claudia's sling
- a voucher for Dreamland
- a gift for a friend
- the key to the mailbox

We have looked everywhere, but can't find any of this stuff...no clue where it could have gone. I hope it all turns up soon

Emiliana Torrini, Tori Amos, Heather Nova

2009-12-21T20:48:00.005+01:00

Our daughter Caitlin is getting a good musical education, as she is constantly listening to children songs, mixed with contemporary artists like U2, Tori Amos, Heather Nova and oldies like the Velvet Underground and The Beatles. And now her big favourite is Emiliana Torrini's "Jungle Drum". Every time we sing the chorus and do the drum sounds, she goes wild :)

Picture of Heather Nova in Hanau was taken by Gerd Will and found on Wikipedia.org

Learning massages the hard way

2009-12-14T16:43:00.003+01:00

The story of how I learned to give massages is a long one. It all started back in 1989 when I had to do my military service. In those days it was still one year (a year later it was abolished) and you had to go to one day to the infamous CRM building near the Military Hospital of Neder-Over-Heembeek (Brussels). In my father's days you even had to go 3 full days to "Het Klein Kasteeltje" which has been given a new purpose in life: a refugee camp for people who are asking political asylum in Belgium.

Anyway, at the CRM you had to give 3 options and they would try their best to give you at least one of those 3: where you wanted to serve your military service, when and in which department. I asked to be stationed near Brussels, start immediately and preferably do something with journalism or languages.

Well, I was lucky, as they send me to the headquarters in Evere to work for BLS (Bureau de Liason de Sport), the Sports' Department of the Belgian Army.

During one of the missions they needed someone who spoke some Hungarian to accompany the fencing team to Budapest. Unfortunately they only had one free place on the Fokker plane and that was for a masseur. So in the end they sent me to the Military Hospital to take a crash course in sports' massages :)

Swedish Designer Drugs - Daan

2009-11-28T14:16:00.005+01:00

Today Flemish Radio 1 is bringing us the best 100 Belgian songs. I'm listening to them while I'm cleaning my old house and now Daan is playing with a wonderful song: Swedish Designer Drugs. It's a great song and the video clip features the same vacuum cleaner that I'm using at this very moment :) Talk about coincides...

Check out Youtube for the video clip AND the vacuum cleaner : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko_QKDM3Syw

p.s. the song also exists in a softer version by Belgian Trio Laïs.

Free Tickets - Hable Con Ella - Flagey

2009-11-27T09:44:00.004+01:00

I have 2 free tickets for the viewing of Pedro Almodovar's Hable Con Ella in the Flagey Studios, this Wednesday December 2nd at 8pm. Unfortunately I cannot go, but if anybody is interested, drop me a line here below. Please only respond if you are really 100% that you are going, it would be a waste to throw away 2 tickets for such a good movie.

Tickets for the Chippendales

2009-10-28T14:06:00.003+01:00

My wife won two tickets to the Chippendales Show in the Cirque Royal in Brussels, this Friday 30 October at 8pm (doors open at 7pm). She also won two goodiebags from Flair with lots of surprises.

Unfortunately (for her LOL) she won't be able to go. So if somebody else wants to take the 2 tickets, you can contact me. The value of the tickets are 35 € each, but if you can make a nice offer the tickets are yours.

Tickets U2 Brussels 2010

2009-10-17T20:26:00.003+02:00

Today on my 42nd birthday I got up early to try and score some tickets to next year's U2 concert on Wednesday September 23rd in Brussels. I had already created an account on Proximus Go For Music because that was the only official site that Live Nation allowed to sell tickets. But as you can imagine I was not the only one on the net and logging in took ages. After struggling with passwords, usernames and Visa Card codes, I didn't even manage to get the front stage tickets which I wanted. In the end I settled for the "cheaper" tickets in the back, but they are promising a 360° show and from the pictures I saw it looks like you will even get a good view from behind the stage. Let's hope so.

I saw U2 live many many years ago, when they just scored their first big hits (Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year's Day).

The U2 360° Tour is an ongoing worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, the tour will visit stadiums from 2009 through 2010, whereas the previous two tours, the Elevation Tour and the Vertigo Tour, featured indoor arenas. The U2 360° Tour is named after the 360-degree staging and audience configuration it uses for shows, which U2 claims is "the first time a band has toured in stadiums with such a unique and original structure." In an era of declining CD sales, the tour is expected to be a major source of income for the band

Source: Wikipedia.
Picture: CC-BY-2.5 by Wikipedia Brown

Thanks Olivier!

2009-09-14T23:41:00.005+02:00

A couple of days ago I wrote about my HP Pavilion that crashed on me, and the bad deal the people at HP had given me. But today my colleague Olivier managed to restore my hard drive and copy it to the server. I immediately transfered the data to a Lacie external hard drive and installed my favourite programmes like Paint Shop Pro X2 and Canon's Digital Photo Professional.

And what is even more important: we managed to save the three great shoots I had recently with Anik, Valerie and Doina. Thanks again, Olivier, I owe you one. Without you some great pictures like the one above would have been lost forever.

My HP Pavillion just died on me

2009-09-10T21:46:00.004+02:00

About 2 years ago I bought a HP Pavilion 6000 series. It was a brand new model, competitively priced and with lots of good specifications. However, very soon small problems started to creep in (like battery problems and poor Wifi reception). The problems went and came back, but were mostly just small nuisances. Then a couple of days before the warranty ran out, my wireless connection completely refused to work.

I contacted HP and they send me a BOIS Update. This did not help me, so they replaced the motherboard. At that moment (one year ago) I was impressed by their support. But no longer, since I found out the truth about what really happened. Because last week my laptop broke down completely. After switching it on, there are three loud beeps and the computer just fails to boot up. HP refuse to help me without first buying an extended warranty (the warranty ran out about 2 months ago). They offer to replace the motherboard, but it will cost about 350 euro.

I surfed a bit around on the internet, and found out what is really the problem. The Pavilion 6000 and 9000 series apparently suffer from an overheating problem, which often affects the wireless adapter first, but if you keep on using it, also attacks other parts of your computer. The BIOS fix that they first suggested, only changes the way the fan cools the computer.

HP has been getting loads of complaints from customers, but instead of admitting that the overheating is the reason why the mother boards are getting fried, they try to keep us happy with offering BIOS fixes.

I hope there is still a way to recuperate all the data on my hard drive, because it contains some of the nicest pictures I took recently.

So now I'm also looking for a new laptop, preferably one that won't die on me after 2 years. Any suggestions?

Martathon 'Of Flesh and Blood'

2009-08-24T09:23:00.002+02:00

Once a year Antwerp gets ready for the "Bollekensfeesten", a food-happening where local products are put into the limelight. Antwerp is famous for its De Koninck beer, their candy, Elexir D'Anvers, Filet d'Anvers and much much more.

This year they organized also a marathon session of "Van Vlees and Bloed", a popular TV mini series about life in a butcher's family. 7 hours of top quality acting, from 10 pm to 5 am. During the breaks we received local products and fresh coffee to keep as awake. I think we started the marathon with about 200 people, and maybe 70 managed to make it till the end.

Starbucks coming to Antwerp

2009-08-11T10:42:00.002+02:00

I read the news today, oh boy, Starbucks will open only its second branch in Belgium. Just like for so many other chains, Belgium has been a void. Think about Burger King. Or Wendy's. Or Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Even for McDonalds Belgium used to be a big black spot on the World Map. Blacker than Red China. But now another chain is making its way (slowly) into Belgium: the Coffee chains. When you look abroad, the place is swarming with Nero's and other coffe chains. But not in Belgium. Yes, we have Panos. And that's it :) But you can hardly call that a coffee chain, more a sandwich bar that has also some coffee.

There are many rumours why it has taken Starbucks so long to get a place in Antwerp Central Station. One of the most believable rumours talks about lobby work by a big competitor.

Money for a Tree

2009-07-19T11:40:00.003+02:00

In the town of Grimbergen where we live, they have an interesting birth incentive: every child that is born in this community, gets a choice of two gifts. Either 50 euro, or 25 euro and a tree. The tree is planted once a year (together with the trees of other babies) in a big gree area.

We choice of course for the second option. Money is something you can find everywhere, but a tree with your child's name on, that is much more special. The next tree-planting session will be in September

Tattoo Me, Tattoo You

2009-06-17T23:50:00.005+02:00

I had the shock of my life yesterday when i went to a tattoo parlour for three (3) simple stars near my left ear. Unfortunately I was sooooo tired that I fell asleep while the tattoo artist went to work.

3 hours later I woke up, with 56 stars on my face! What a shock. Apparently I'm not the only one, since another girl from Belgium had a similar problem. What should I do now?

Visiting Friends in Lübeck

2009-05-21T11:03:00.000+02:00

After loading our entire luggage in the car, we started our trip in Grimbergen at 10 a.m. We still had to go to the Abdijstraat and after saying goodbye to Frank’s parents we left without any traffic jams. The trip itself was fine, of course we had to stop several times to change and feed Caitlin. Today was probably the most problematic (traffic-wise) since we had to cover the long distance between Belgium and the North of Germany in one day.

At around 6:30 we arrived at our hotel, an Etap hotel with the typical practical Etap design. This means it is one star more than a Formule 1 hotel (a little bit more comfort, an acceptable breakfast buffet and free internet in the rooms). The toilets and bathroom (separate) reminded me a bit about those in a train wagon, and cleaning them will probably take 30 seconds with a high-pressure water gun and some disinfectant.

We unpacked, rested a bit and left for my friend Tinchen and her mother Anni, a friendship that dates back to the times when young kids had pen pals and sent them real letters… We were welcomed with warmth and first of all exchanged some news about what had happened in our lives. Old memories were revived too and on top of all the nice conversation we were served a delicious gratin with meat, peppers and tomatoes.

Caitlin was her usual friendly and curious self, only quite late did she get tired and a bit cranky, so we decided to go back to our hotel room and went straight to bed. Having Caitlin sleep between us proved very comfortable. Maybe we shouldn't bring our travel bed anymore next time.

Tomorrow we will test www.bewelcome.org in Rostock :)

List of All my Cars

2009-05-17T00:16:00.000+02:00

First publishes April 2008

Ok, I'm trying to remember all the cars I ever owned. Strange, it's quite difficult. But then again I've never been a big car freak. Whenever the car drove smoothly without any technical problems, I was happy.

Getting my driving licence was not so difficult. On the theoretical I scored 36/40, which was sufficient and the practical exam went fine as well. I remember my father saying it didn't look so good, but in the end I passed without any major hiccups.

My first car was a Citroën : The Citroën AX. A nice black cool minicar. It's also the car I had my first (and only) accident with. I took my right of way and another car that hadn't seen me drove straight into me. Quite a lot of material damage but nothing dramatic

My second car was a Fiat : The Fiat Punto. A green one this time.

Then I got the opportunity to buy a Triumph Spitfire 1500. A wonderful little car (see picture) but also a problematic child. Everytime I drove somewhere, it needed some kind of repair. But it is without a doubt the car that gave me my best memories. Driving it to Holland with Iris, going to Wales with Stasja, discovering the Flemish Ardennes with Thelma... I called my car Roxanne by the way. The last years it was waiting in my garage for better times. Now I sold it and hope it will once again enjoy driving on the roads.

My next car was again a Fiat. A dark-red Fiat Tempra. It was my first family-sized car and made it more easy to drive long distances with more than 3 people. Trips to Poland for example, or driving to Germany.

My present car is an Opel Astra. Black, sleek, and very reliable. It took me through the Baltics and down to Spain.

And very soon I will get a new car: a Renault Scenic. I'm looking forward to that.

My Education - Part 2

2009-05-16T16:15:00.000+02:00

I started looking for a suitable major and decided to try "Translating and Interpreting", a 4 year course with led to a "Licentiate Degree" but is now called "Master in Translation".

Initially I wanted to take a language that was not so popular. Danish for example. But a few days before giving my final decision, the Danish government fell and I didn't liked the language so much. I know it is silly taking such a decision without first checking out the languages, but that's what happened: I decided to go for Italian and English. An good choice, because the College provided me with an excellent background, not only in languages but in many other subjects.

When I first started there, the school was called "Hoger RijksInstituut voor Vertalers en Tolken", later it became "RVT" and now it is called Erasmushogeschool

I will write more later, but after 4 years (1983-1987) I graduated with a dissertation about "Cocaine: Influences on the brain, a translation with glossary".

Why do women think men lie and cheat?

2009-05-16T00:14:00.000+02:00

I honestly believe that most men can't lie. At least not lie convincingly. Because if we do, we often get caught. Let's say for example that I say that I can't go to somebody's party because I have to go to the dentist (but in reality I'm going to another party). They always will find out. Maybe women have a 7th sense (we all know they have a 6th sense anyway). Or maybe we men are so honest that we don't have the time and occasion to practice.
Did you know that girls also cheat more at exams than boys? It has been statistically proven. And it hasn't been proven, then somebody should prove it quickly anyway.

But let's not lose track of my point. I wanted to tell you about Honesty and Man. Once upon a time I had been accused of being a liar. Not once, not twice, but thrice! The accusations were based on nothing but some silly fantasies of a crazy woman. I felt like Saint Peter who had been warned by Jesus that he would deceive Him three times before the rooster would crow. But the fact was that that woman was no Jesus, and I'm not a rooster.

Let me paint the picture: I had invited her at my place. Or she had invited herself, that is not important since I was happy to have her around. She knew I didn't have a relationship. At least not with other women. Or men. Simple, I had no other relations.

So why did I have a box of chocolates on the table, heart-shaped on top of that!. ACCUSATION NUMBER 1 : I must have received that from another girl!
Still, the explanation was quite simple: I had organized a guided tour and every participant had received a box of chocolates (Neuhaus, for those of you who know the chocolate world

So why did I have 2 (empty) glasses Pisang Ambon in my bathroom?
ACCUSATION NUMBER 2 : I had taken a bath with a girlfriend while drinking.
I invite everybody to come and visit my bathroom. Really, you don't need to make an appointment, just come and have a look. It is a bath where I do not have a lot of space, let alone make it fit two people. I agree that being close to the one you love can be very romantic, like two fish in a little bowl. But honestly, it is not something I would recommend to anybody. So what is the true reason behind the two glasses. Ok, I admit it, I am not the most tidy person in the world and please do call Anonymous Alcoholics, I drank two glasses on two different occassions and forgot to take the glasses down So what ? Sue me !

So why were there make-up pads lying in my dustbin?
ACCUSATION 3 : I had a secret lover who first had to make herself pretty for me and then had to take off the make-up to make her ugly for the rest of the world.
Yes, how would I ever find a way to explain that. Maybe I liked dressing up like a woman? Or I organized a Halloween Party and Dracula had to tend to his bleeding lips? Or was the rumour true that I have little goblins in my attic who organize parties all night long?
Maybe I should have told her the truth, that one of my students had taken off her make-up because after a long day at the reception of BIAC she got fed up with wearing a painting on her face

But why do women like to search my dustbin?

Oh, a very important Post Scriptum: I did a test in Facebook, and it turns out I am a natural-born Liar (Liar, Liar, your pants are on fire)...so if you believe everything I write here on this blog, then you have been warned :)

My Education - Part 1

2009-05-15T15:15:00.000+02:00

Saki, the Scottish writer, once said the following about education : "But, good gracious, you've got to educate him first. You can't expect a boy to be vicious till he's been to a good school."

Education is something that has been running through my life like a thick red line. I have 2 websites dedicated to constant learning (Levenslangleren.be in Dutch and Levenslangleren.info in English), I try constantly to learn new things and have been to quite a lot of schools and taken numerous courses.

Here a short overview of my past academic failures and accomplishments:

- Kindergarten : The memories are a bit vague, but I do remember some parts of it. I went to the "Kleuterschool Het Prinsenhof" in Grimbergen, from the ages of 3 till 6. We are talking about the period from 1970 till 1973.
- Primary Education was from 1974 till 1981, at the "Basisschool Het Prinsenhof" in Grimbergen. It was quite a happy time, and i have some fond memories of going to school there. My first teacher was Juffrouw De Wit, and other teachers that I will remember are Meester Siccard, Meester Mergaerts en Meester Van Den Block. Yes, we all call our teachers "Masters" :)
- Secondary Education was from 1981 till 1987 at the Sint-Joris Instituut in Brussels. A catholic all-boys' school with a good reputation and not as strict as the nearby Sint-Jan Berchmans (which produced some of our worst racist politician). I first took Latin, but later went on to take Modern Languages with as little mathematics as possible.
I have only fond memories of this school, even if there were some bullies and my school results were not always as good as I would have liked them to be.

I do remember taking Typing lessons (while waiting for my dad who worked in the neighbourhood) and getting great marks (i'm typing this quite fast).

At the end of the final year I took a PMS test (Psycho-Medical-Social centre) which stated I would probably not accomplish a lot at university.

But I passed my maturity test (which is something resembling A-levels) and went on to go to university. For those interested: my maturity thesis was in English: "The History of Cinema"

Recette pour Boulettes Italiennes

2009-05-15T10:11:00.000+02:00

Last week we had a nice party at our place, and everybody brought something to eat.

Here is the recipe for Italian Meatballs / Boulettes à l'italienne

Boulettes italiennes

Pour 4 personnes

350gr de boeuf haché
2 pommes de terre cuites en robe des champs
2 gousses d’ail
50gr de parmesan
2 tranches de pain rassis
2 œufs
2 cuillères à soupe de persil haché
0,5dl de lait
Chapelure
Sel, poivre

Tremper le pain (sans croutes) dans le lait
Eplucher et écraser les pommes de terre
Hâcher l’ail
Casser les œufs et les battre

Egoutter le pain, ajouter la viande, les pommes de terre, l’ail, le parmesan, le persil, sel, poivre et les œufs. Mélanger le tout

En faire des ‘hamburgers’ ovales et les passer dans la chapelure

Faire chauffer l’huile et les frire +/- 5’ en les retournant à mi-cuisson

Beaufitul Actrices versus Ugly Actors

2009-05-15T00:14:00.001+02:00

Julia Roberts versus Steve Buscemi
Marilyn Monroe versus Mike Meyers
Angelina Jolie versus William Dafoe

Have you noticed how often famous actrices are beautiful, where famous actors don't necessarily need to be the hot sexy top model. Nobody will say that Tom Hanks is the nr. 1 male beauty, although Cameron Diaz might be.

Isn't it remarkable how the roles of "heroines" in Hollywood are often played by beautiful women? Name me ONE single film where a sympathetic main character is played by an 'ugly' woman.
Of course you will respond by saying "what is ugly". But I mean it in the most natural, non-politically-correct way: there are no interesting roles for women who do not fit into the beauty concept.

With men this is completely different. You can have men playing the biggest screen roles, get the biggest pay checks and still be as ugly as the night. Some examples? Woody Harrelson, Josse De Pauw, Tom Hanks, Mike Meyers,...

Ok, you might say that they are not THAT ugly, and some women will even say that they have "character" or "charme, or even worse : "an interesting face"... but do you get my drift? Jay Leno can present his show, but put a woman next to him who is just as ugly as him, and all hell will break loose.

Just look to Belgian Commercial television if you will: when you are elected Miss Belgium, you are sure to become an anchor woman for the news, even if you are as dumb as the backside of a donkey.

The Hidden Meaning of Dreams

2009-05-14T14:13:00.000+02:00

I used to think that dreams were all full of lies...that they were just images stored in my subconscious and waiting to be either erased or filed. Just like it happens on a computer, where you shut down the system and anything relevant is quickly written to the the hard disk.

I have to admit that I often dream of beautiful women I meet in the supermarket. Sometimes I even dream about taking difficult decisions (like which excuse to come up with the next time I'm late for work).

But once I had this crazy dream, and I realized that dreams and nightmares do not necessarily come from a place far far away...but can also bring on new ideas

Here is a short description of the dream, maybe you can find an explanation:

"I was working in a colourful pub which was often visited by foreign artists. An Eastern European girl ask me for some Czech cigarettes. I went to my boss and she gave me a black and white coin that I had to put into a jukebox. 10 packages of a brand called "olga" came out of the jukebox.

What does this all mean? What is the hidden meaning behind this dream. Are there any psychology students out there who can help me with my predicament? Help !

Star Wars Exhibition in Brussels

2009-05-14T00:12:00.000+02:00

this article was first published on March 30, 2008

I have always been a big Star Wars fan. But initially the thought of seeing "Star Wars" did not thrill me. You see, my dad took me almost every weekend to see a movie. Mostly war movies. And when I heard about "Star Wars" I thought it was another war movie.

A friend of mine, Maarten, had already seen the movie and convinced me it was worth it. And then my mum got invited to a premiere because she had a toy shop that sold Star Wars models. I was immediately a big fan. My favourite movie is still The Empire Strikes Back because of the great scene on Hott and the amazing discovery that Darth Vader is not who we thought he was.

I understand that some people were disappointed with The Phantom Menace, but we should not compare a movie that we saw when we were 10 years old with another one when we are 33.

Anyway, I was going to tell you something about the Star Wars Exhibition in Brussels. Well, if you are a big Star Wars fan, you will like it (and probably love it). Although it is a bit small and some of the exhibits are not so impressive, it does have some real attractions. Especially with children it is a nice exhibition.

If you are not a great fan, then you better skip this one. Not only is it very expensive, but there is not a lot of information about how they made the movies.

You can check out some pictures on my Deviantart account : Thorgal67

More info about the exhibition : Star Wars Exhibition

TOUR & TAXIS, HAVENLAAN 86C, 1000 BRUSSEL

7 days a week until the 1st of June
10 a.m. until 6 p.m.(last entry 5 p.m.)
10 a.m. until 7 p.m. (last entry 6 p.m.) on Saturday and Sunday
Jedi Experience on Wednesday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday

Tickets are on sale at the exhibition:

Adults: €13
Students under 25 years old, children under 12 years old and groups above 15 persons: €10
Children under 5 go free

My favourite Movies

2009-05-13T14:11:00.000+02:00

Ever since I was young, I have been fascinated with movies. From an early age on, my dad used to take me to the cinema. I don't remember the name exactly, but I think it was Calypso (in Machelen) and Astoria (in Vilvoorde). But I should ask my dad, who took me almost every Sunday afternoon. Mostly war movies like Battle of the Bulge.

When my brother was a bit older we went to Brussels, to the Marivaux, the Vendôme, the Ambassador (specialized in Disney movies) and the Eldorado (now transformed into the UGC De Brouckère). Of all the cinemas I went to, only one or two still exist.

Later when I studied in Brussels I went to the new cinemas like City2 or Kinepolis. And even later I worked in a real cinema myself : Pathé Palace.

Here are some of my favourite movies. I will talk more about them later.

- Brazil
- American History X
- Magnolia
- Godfather Part 2
- Amores Perros

Friday 13th - Bad Luck in Bremen

2009-05-13T00:58:00.000+02:00

This article was first published on Friday 13th, 2007

In April we visited my brother and his family in Peer, then we drove to Düsseldorf to meet Anja and finally we drove to Bremen with Claudia’s family to celebrate her mum’s birthday. What was supposed to be a nice little get-together turned into something close to a nightmare!

On our first day (Friday the 13th) somebody broke into the hotel and stole all our stuff : 2 laptops, mobile phone, mp3 player, exams by Claudia’s students (which they had to redo later that month…poor children), all of Claudia’s pictures which had been burned on CDs. This means that for most people I don’t have their telephone number anymore. Please send me an sms with your full name so I can add you again.

At night we went to the police office to look at pictures of criminals, but no luck. And now 8 months later I received a letter from the Bremen Police saying that they are closing the case as they have no chance of finding them.
I didn’t lose a lot of money as the hotel was insured and most of my stuff was quite new, but Claudia’s pictures were of course irreplaceable.

We tried to have a good time in Bremen and in the end we did enjoy ourselves (the weather was great) but there will always be a part of me that associates Bremen with bad luck and Friday 13th.

The White Album - The Beatles

2009-05-12T13:10:00.000+02:00

The first time I really understood the power of music, was around 1975. I must have been 7 or 8, and my dad had strongly warned me not to touch his stereo. We had a Dual record player, pioneer tuner, and Uher tape recorder (one of those big ones with 12 inch tapes).

And in the closet was a nice selection of music that was popular around that time: Herb Alper, The Two Man Sound, Marva and some Russian folk music. And also a white album. It said "the Beatles" in white letters. And inside were 4 A4-size pictures of guys with long hair. I put the record on, and hadn't noticed that the volume dial was pushed all the way. The sound of the airplane (the beginning of "Back in the USSR") blasted through the loud speakers. Luckily nobody was home. My first encounter with the Beatles. They would never leave me.

Until this day The White Album is still my favourite Beatles album, because it is so eclectic.

Deviantart - Urbex

2009-05-12T00:09:00.000+02:00

My Urbex account on DeviantArt contains some pictures taking during my Urban Exploration trips. Some of the places we visited (alone or together with friends) were an abandoned theme park, an old hospital, a crypte, a sanatorium, an orphanage and some factories. We only take picture and leave footprints. On some occasions we also took models there for some interesting combination of abandoned beauty.

The Modelling Business - How to Become a Model

2009-05-11T12:08:00.000+02:00

Last year I started taking pictures of models, and 2007 saw me continue on the same line. I registered with several websites where photographers and models can meet. The website vary in quality, but most are very user-friendly website

A list of those I registered on :

- Modellennet
- Eye-on (the old "Photograaf.be")
- Model-kartei

Many boys and girl dream of becoming a photo model. When you check the visitors of our website, it strikes us how many type in "how can I become a photo model". But there are many misconceptions about how to become a photomodel.

First of all, it is not necessary to look like a babe or have a six-pack tummy to make it in the modelling business. What you DO need is some courageous, ambitions and feel well. Some people say that they are not photogenic, that they don't "stick" to paper, but that is not true. Everybody is photogenic, you just have to find the right photographer to bring it out in the open.

Also you don't need to be 7 feet tall. Photographers have their ways to make you feel taller (or smaller) than you really are.

Just contact me if you want to make it in the modelling business. I can help you with your portfolio.

Two years ago I became member of a great Internet Site called Deviant Art (www.deviantart.com). It’s a kind of artist’s community where you can upload your artistic works (pictures, paintings, poetry, etc….) or just comment on other artist’s works.

Our friends are leaving Brussels

2009-05-11T00:01:00.000+02:00

This article was first published on 24/4/07
Quite a lot of people that we know through BeWelcome.org left Belgium this year. Katherine, Laura, Danah, Dylan, Patrick…. I hope we can stay in touch and meet up again soon. But also some new people came to Brussels, like Asia W. and Tadeusz and Asia H. And we helped Olga move to her new house near Vilvoorde, and visited Wokzter and Karamia who spent Easter in Brussels at Mart_o-clock’s place.

Update:

many more have left since then. Beyhan to Romania, Bartek back to Poland, Krista to Finland, Joeri to Scandinavia (surprise, surprise...)

Hospitality Exchange Movie Mondays

2009-05-10T00:57:00.001+02:00

This article was first published April 2, 2007

In April I started organizing my Movie Mondays. First the idea was to invite some friends from the different hospex websites like BeWelcome.org to join we at the cinema for a monthly movie. But the concept proved to be so successful (sometimes we had up to 20 people joining us) that I decided to have it every week. We saw some great movies together this year (Eastern Promises, The Simpsons, Shoot ‘m’ Up) but also some not so good ones (Beowulf). But in the end we always went for a drink in Café Monk and talked about life, movies and other interesting topics. I have made some great friends there (Sylvie, Franco, Krista, Kristina, Stef, George, Beyhan, Olga, Tadeusz, Bartek and all the Asia’s …)

Every week we also write a review about the movie for inclusion on the Becultural website

Hospitality Exchange Movie Mondays

2009-05-10T00:57:00.000+02:00