Wall of Death meets folkpop

I simply fell in love with this video for Jonathan Boulets song North To South East for You (2010)...

The Wall of Death combined with the serenity of the song is absolutely amazing!

For the ignorant : the Wall of Death is something quite popular in the metal or punk, hardcore scene.

Basically the crowd splits in two groups and then when a sign is given they run and, well,
bump into each other.

Quite painful. But all for entertainment!

Jonathan Boulet - North To South East To You from Special Problems on Vimeo.

T'Pau 1987

Some songs are not meant to be forgotten,

this is one of them.
China in your hand is a song by the British band T'Pau and came out in 1987.

 Carol Decker wrote the song and says that the title refers to the effect that if you hold a china cup to a light,
you can see your hand through it 

- therefore 'china in your hand' means something that is transparent.

I said a hip hop the hippie the hippie

Ladies and gentlemen,

I have recently - as in yesterday - discovered that drinking too much Bailey's can be fatal for your party skills.

Let's say, hypothetically, you were planning on going to some kind of hip-hop party ( yes I'm aware that this is absolutely not my style, but one must occasionally step out of of his own lifestyle-box and explore other horizons). Anyway, where was I?

Oh right a hip-hop party (click here for appropriate song whilst reading). So you're meeting with some friends who are already quite drunk and there's a full bottle of Bailey's on the table. You decide that it's just ridiculous not to drink anything since your friends can barely even pronounce their own names anymore.

Two hours later you realize you almost finished half the bottle.

You leave for the party -exclusif concert GANGRENE, a new project from the producer The Alchimist-, you use your female charmes to get your friends in for five euros instead of ten and half an hour later you have to crawl outside because it's too damn hot and damp in there. Booh. Weak.

There's this annoying cook in Flanders - Piet - ( translation : dick) who finishes his cooking programme with this extremely tedious phrase :  "So, what have we learned today?"

I would answer following :

1) Don't drink too much before going to a party (this can be applied to all sorts of alcoholic beverages)
2) Don't wear too many clothes  - in fact, it is better to go naked,-
3) Don't try to blend in, you will only have people coming up to you asking you if you have weed

Mademoiselle Jean

I just saw pictures of some items from the new summer collection of Mademoiselle Jean.

Me wants, me wants, me wants!

www.mademoisellejean.com

Not so-boring weekends

Okay, it's Monday again. HORROR.
Everyone can start their boring routines again;
get up in the morning - booze down the coffee - shower & brush teeth- go to whatever crappy job you have and face hours and hours of traffic jams -
yawn every half hour - go home- face hours and hours of traffic jams - do whatever boring after-work activities you have - sleep.
Repeat.

Oh wow, I got depressed just by typing this.

But let's not focus on words,  let's say - hypothetically- it's Friday, hoorraay!

( I hate the concept of going out in the weekend by the way, I mean, why is it you have to go out in the weekends huh? Why not do something crazy and spontaneous, and go out on Tuesday once in a while.

Thing about Fridays or Saturdays (or Sundays for hardcore party people who will die at the age of  35)
is you always have to decide where to go to to celebrate the end of the week. Living in Brussels has several advantages ; there's always a million things to do in the weekends....

Matias Aguayo  at K-NAL

Last week I went to the K-NAL to see a live set by Matias Aguayo (who was pretty fantastic to watch) ,
it's pretty hard to describe what he brings (tribalish dj set soaked in Latin grooves and spiced with some German techno. ) Entertaining?  YES.


                                                           

                                                                                    


This weekend I went to the Super Acid Release party by BOYS NOIZE RECORDS with Shadow Dancer, Strip Steve and Jan Driver (also at the K-NAL) . It was amazing. My ears still hurt. We were also right in front of the stage during the live set by Ali Love  that same night. Boy were they good. I even got hugged by mr. Ali Himself when he all of the sudden jumped into the crowd.
          



My friend Rosanna and I were also offered to play a tiny part in a short movie by a French girl that night.
Exciting shizzle! As soon as I get the results I'll put it                                                                                      online, but it might take a while since it's a long term project.                                                         
(I somehow fucked up the layout and apparently there's no way back so you'll have to excuse me and move on with your life)                                                                                                                                                   

Footloose

Watching movies while I should be studying instead has always been my forte.
Though others may not approve, in my opinion it is just an innocent form of healthy and necessary procrastination!

So yesterday I decided to give the 26-year old Kevin Bacon another glance or two in Footloose.

Damn, how I love this movie! When the music starts playing my feet truly lead a life of their own, I can but helplessly look down and wait 'till they stop moving.

I even almost forgot Sarah Jessica Parker had a tiny part in Footloose as well, she must've been 19 years old and without that big pimple she nowadays carries (-haha, wordplay--) on her face.  -update : apparently she got rid of that nasty thing, THANK GOD-

Enjoy!

P-p-p-pascal M-m-m-mouri

Did a photoshoot for Pascal Mouri (www.pascalmouri.com) a few days ago with Nathy & Tatiana

and it was RAD... I'm looking forward seeing the results but in the meanwhile here's some behind-the-scene-sneak peaks :)

Antwerpian Hours

If I'd compare Brussels to Beauty and the Beast   --my favourite Disney-movie--
then Antwerp would be my Cinderella -- my beloved number two--
Going shopping in Antwerp , that is when you have money to spend, is a rather divine activity. I must say Cinderella beats the shit out of Belle when it comes to shopping -not only because of its great vintage shops and thrift stores but also because Antwerp is soooo freakin' clean compared to Brussels haha ^^
Starting the day at Urban Outfitters where I didn't buy clothes but a flask with a pink floral print and ending the same day in MacDonalds laughing our asses off because of something that I can't remember -but it must have been undoubtedly incredibly witty- I can say we had fun.

Aaah public transport. How I love you.

 My American monkey has a weird Greyhound obsession,

which was  taken to an exctatic state of mind when she saw this
weird pink one in front of a lingerie shop. We suspect it was a rather dodgy shop, but we didn't dare to go in ; so innocent until proven guilty.

                                   Hmm. This actually looked  wearable until the monkey tried it on. Bad idea.

                                                                        I like cheese.

                                                                        City of diamonds.

                                                                 

Brrruges

There I was, in what Colin Farrell so politely referred to as "fucking Bruges"  (you know, that movie every Belgian was suppose to be proud of when the word spread ; In Bruges)

Occasion?
The annual ice sculptures festival which has been organised in Bruges since 2005, nearby the station.

This year's theme is "Around the World", which basically means they try to take the visitors up on an icy trip through history. The organizers were so kind to warn people to dress up warmly, because oh dear, the first
thought to cross your mind when visiting an ice sculptures festival might be "I wonder if I could show off that new tank top and Hawaiian shorts I bought" -_-.
Hmm. Not. Minus 6 degrees it was. Peanuts for Scandinavians or Lapps, but a true torment for me. I actually like the sun you see.  Luckily for some (including me I may add)  there was an ice-bar where brandy and gin attracted attention, perhaps even more than the sculptures. However, muffled (thank you dead sheep for serving as my coat, I shall be forever in your debt) and fierce I began the tour. I must admit I was a bit overwhelmed. Those ice sculptures were humongous! The artists made beautiful sculptures with an eye for details. We passed a giant clog, ancient Greek gods and goddesses, the tower of Pisa, the Wall of Berlin, Elvis, Madonna, Egyptian gods, the Wailing Wall, etcetera etcetera...
Very impressive even though the feeling my nose would fall off if I'd gaze upon those amazing statues for longer than three minutes stopped me from admiring them for too long.
All in all, a wonderful festival.

Pictures.

Giant Clog

Icy Throne

Aphrodite

Tower of Pisa

Marilyn Monroe without panties

Very ugly impression of Madonna (look at the size of those thighs!)

Wailing at the Wailing Wall, what else?

Egyptian Sfinx

Indian in Canada (no joke)

Mozart

And all that jazz

Oh dear,
it's been almost a month again since my last post. WHY, WHY, WHY?
Lack of spine I guess ... (sounds like I hate writing for this blog, but that ain't true ^^)


I wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year and all that jazz!


New posts are coming up soon, I'm working/studying at the moment so during the week nothing exciting will happen but this Saturday I planned a shopping spree to Antwerp with my American Monkey so that'll be interesting to say the least!
Earlier this week I went to Bruges for the ice sculptures festival (and to do some shopping DUH) so pictures are coming up from that day as well!


Stay tuned,
in the meanwhile I'll leave you with this marvellous little video.
Someone give the man a job!

Hans & Gretel

I just stumbled upon this old, let's say ANCIENT, animated video with silhouettes 
made by Lotte Reiniger.

It's about 10 minutes long and slightly differs from the original version by the brothers Grimm...

Let me tell you why ; this animated little video was made in 1955, 

not so long after WWII and on top of that the producers were Germans (that explains a lot aye)

The original plot of burning that nasty witch-woman in an oven wasn't probably very ...err... smart, 

so they slightly altered it into a more "acceptable" children's story.

Instead of turning into a fiery pile of  flesh and bones,

she just - and I quote - broke into tiny pieces after Gretel breaks her magic stick....

  Eat this you filthy 21st century special effects!

Christmas & Dying camera's.

Ok, I officially suck.       ( not that you perverts)

Going to the Christmas Market in Brussels and forgetting to charge your camera is like

scraping your nerves together to go bungee-jumping only to hear your friends say afterwards they forgot to tape the goddaaamn thing on video.   Ooh ok, I'm slightly exaggerating here but still.

I managed to squeeze 2 photo's out of  my camera, with its last dying breath. 

  View from car place SABLON

My little American monkey and my Alsatian honey, enjoying the Alsatian minute with an Alsatian delicatesse.
Gewurtzstraminer ( YES! Managed to write that down without googling) , a sweet wine from the Alsace in France, and something that I thought was originally German. Sauerkraut, you know? ....But the Alsatian version is better since it's completely SOAKED in wine. Christmas market without alcohol is obviously a no-go!

We never said we were going to make things right

HOORRAAH!

Heartbeat:Zero just has its new album out, We Never Said We Were Going To Make Things Right, and although my opinion is far from being objective I must say I fucking LOVE it. Compared to their original sound, the new album is harder, better, faster, stronger.
Amazing drums, raw guitar and an awesome bass by Geoffrey Craggs who recently joined the band make this album a must-download!

Step one:  Listen to the album for FREE with lyrics here

Step two : After listening you won't be able to stop yourself from becoming

a FAN on facebook

A little color

Woops. Almost forgot to mention ; 

M.A.D just decorated the new winter shop display for Street Teaser!

I'm sure it'll brighten up your day just by passing by, since it's pretty COLORFUL.

www.mad-concept.be
Check out their website, it's pretty neat!

 

 Rue du Page/ Pagestraat 24
Brussels

American Beauty

Everyone would love to be a tiny fly one day so they could sneak a peek into the houses of people they know or maybe even strangers. American Beauty tells us the story about an ordinary American family, which turns out to be well...not so ordinary. Kevin Spacey is Lester Burnham, a 42 year old tragic piece of man who's married with Carolyn ( Annette Bening) a control-freak who thinks her husband is a first class loser.

Now I wouldn't want to be their daughter but Jane Burnham (Thora Birch) isn't that lucky, she completes this little family...a seemingly perfect family in a perfect neighbourhood.

You know it's only a matter of time before one of them will go apeshit.
Trigger : hot blonde sixteen year old girlfriend of Jane, Angela (Mena Suvari),  in a cheerleader uniform. 

Dear daddy Lester becomes infatuated by his daughters girlfriend and what comes next is a whole series of events that will make your toes curl in some kind of weird pleasant way.

A pronounced homophobic mariner,  Lawrence Welk diner music, rose petals, hasj and not to mention boobs crossing the screen from now to then are only some of the treats you're in for when you start watching this movie. And where as the dialogues in American Beauty are humorously dark, the monologues will keep you silenced, if only for a minute because oh yes, there is a moral in this story

"...but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst...and then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain."     (American Beauty)

Add an amazing soundtrack by Thomas Newman -listen here- 

as well as some amazing acting by Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening (you gotta love this woman) and Wes Bentley (I can imagine girls having a major crush on this guy) and you have all the ingredients for a not -so - typical- Hollywood movie...

Dear Santa

 

Dear Santa,

I've been quite a good girl this year.
Bring me these LANVIN Puzzle Wedge Pumps and I won't require any more gifts for the next 20 years.
Thank you.

Back with a vengeance

Winter's back with a vengeance in Brussels,
after that long hot and -may I add- amazing summer (which explains my absence a little bit).
Get your gloves, scarfs and bonnets out of the closet and wear your two pairs of socks.
And pour some vitamine C in your throats, believe me you'll need it. *Cough*

Won't say sorry to my so called readers for this absence since no one is reading this blog anyway.
This blog is just a way for me to talk to myself about my own life without the chance of being called crazy, haha.
Who knows, when I'm 70 and my pension is big enough to afford a laptop, I might re-read all these articles and wistfully snicker about these "good old times"...

Or maybe I die at the age of 30 in a plane-crash.
Let's not think of all the possibilities.

I decided to go back to this blog because I feel like a new era started and I still discover great things every day that I should write down before they become just a vague memory...
Frankly, I don't care about what people say about blogs & their bloggers. Sure there are millions and millions of blogs in this digital world and only few are really worth following or reading but if it makes people happy to write their lives down on a crappy blog, so be it.

I mean, ...this is a crappy blog ^^

Who cares?

To be continued,
meanwhile I'll leave you (and my 70-year old me) with my good ol' friends ACDC 'Back in Business Again' from the album
Fly on the Wall.

Statues in bars

We all know them ; 

people who go to the same bar, every single night.
They sit on their bar stools, looking either utterly bored or drunk and not even slightly amused by
the dragging conversation they've been having for the past hours.

What's driving them there? Is it so exciting to see the same people over and over again in the same place?
What happened to the whole "meeting new people"-concept?  Is it such a big risk to take the plunge to go to a place where you've never ever been before? No wonder people have become so dull, they hold on to routines as if they were social zombies. You can recognize them you know, the social zombies ; they have this blank expression while sipping their usual drinks, they practically don't move from where they sit expect for mother nature's call and they desperately try to get the bartender's attention when glasses are empty like their heads. Motionless figures as it were.  So if you go into a bar, and you spot them try to act naturally and avoid any eye-contact.

On top of my to-do list.

                                   I would do all four of them. Hotness ².

And after that, 

I seriously consider contacting these guys for a hot, sweaty get-together.

If you should be in one of these pictures :
PLEASE MAIL ME, I LOVE YOU!

. note : “Irony is an insult conveyed in the form of a compliment” (E.Whipple)

Zombie Land goes Pin Up

Ok, call me sick, call me mentally ill, call me whatever you want , I couldn't care less because  I actually kinda like this...
Pin Up girls always manage to make my imagination do overtime but
these zombie chicks are just too cool to function.
Oh, wait. They don't , they're dead. Right.

Anyway, go to the website if you want to order your own zombie pin up calendar 

(and make sure you hang it in the kitchen, bedrooms are a no go).