Unborn

Meet the Belgians In Paris

2008-09-10T13:04:00.002+02:00

Sarah Silverman is the best laugh I had for ages

2007-12-25T19:26:00.000+01:00

Wasted your youth playing Tetris ? Then, this is for you.

2007-12-09T15:53:00.000+01:00

The Original Human TETRIS Performance
envoyé par NOTsoNOISY

Will this non-sense ever end ?

2007-11-27T23:32:00.000+01:00

Since Sunday evening, the Parisian suburbs are again living in fear of new riots.
After two youngsters accidentally died in a motorbike crash with a police car, some groups of vandals attacked the police with the usual molotov's and - that's new - guns!
Where will that stop ?
Populations are living in a climate of terror because of a minority of criminals without any consideration for human life..If only the governement walked his talk and squashed these wankers once for all, maybe the surburbs who at last become an enjoyable place to live, but sure the leftists who not tolerate that, you know these crimninals are just "victims of our inegalitarian society"..that makes me sick.
My thoughts go to all the (vast majority) of honest people living & working in these zones which are completly left on their own..untill the next crisis pops up...
How many burn-up's and deaths will it need before someone has the balls to fix this rotten situation ?

How to look like a Dino ?

2007-11-25T20:57:00.000+01:00

Simone elle est bonne

2007-11-20T23:28:00.000+01:00

Simone et pop hip - trop bonne pour toi

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Simone, the French myspace new pop-electro idol...I can't get her tunes out my head. She has this mix of overconfidence and such a kitschy&sexy image that makes her totally irresistible.

2007-11-17T17:28:00.000+01:00

Le nouvel album est un echec
envoyé par D_Super

Didier Super is a musical UFO: Cheap music, bad taste and most importantly truly hilarious and provocative lyrics, politically incorrect as hell.
See him in this video taking the piss out of the Parisians.

Relax, it's just the French way..

2007-11-16T10:01:00.000+01:00

Ok,let's imagine two groups of people have opposing views on a specific political issue.
From my personal experience, the best way to tackle this issue is to get both groups to talk to each other ASAP and try to find a way out. This seems to widely accepted point of view, with a notable exception in France.
If a conflict starts in France, the one who disagrees will first go on strike and demonstrate, inflicting the most possible amount of dammage to the entire economy..that's a plainly innefficient way to tackle problems. Shall someone try and tell them ? Anyway, I would be surprised if they would listen.

Cynicism, a way of life ?

2007-11-14T00:57:00.001+01:00

Screw you and your Mac

2007-11-12T23:40:00.001+01:00

I stumbled upon a terrific website, just modestly named 'The Best page in the universe".
This guy has huge balls and just hits where it hurts.
There is that article about Apple products which is so brillant, just read that quote: "After the recent Apple conference, Mac fans were elated. One person was quoted as saying "I've had a Macintosh now for a total of 35 days, and I'm really excited to be part of the Mac community."
Part of the Mac community? It's a computer, not a social movement, asshole!"
This is all so true. All these people bragging about their Iphone or Ipod or Imac as being "such a revolutionary product" are such pathetic fashion victims convinced of being 'enlightened'. I plead guilty for owning an Ipod nano, but that's just a fucking good mp3 player, nothing else.Tyler Durden says Your are not the IPod you buy.

Best handbag created ever

2007-10-07T16:02:00.001+02:00

Credits to Paula for picking up this marvelous handbag !

Paris, the beautifull

2007-09-09T23:24:00.000+02:00

"Être parisien, ce n'est pas être né à Paris, c'est y renaître"
This quotes from Sacha Guitry says it all.

A tender ghost

2007-06-19T22:44:00.001+02:00

There some old stories, some heavenly moments, as you think they are long forgotten and buried, suddenly, they come back into your life.
Out of the blue, as an accident.
What did happen so that this person remembers me at this stage of her life ?
What was special between us ? I'll never know.
I guess Gasard Noe must have been wrong (So was I) with his motto "Time destroys everything"...Some memories are here to stay

new president, new riots ?

2007-05-07T00:46:00.000+02:00

Tonight, as I was watching the images of joy on television (Sarkozy's supporters partying on place de la concorde), I decided to take a short walk in order to satisfy my addiction for cigarettes. As soon as I reached the corner of my street my eyes started to feel itchy..the explanation was just around the corner: The police were making massive use of tear gas to try to contain riots on the place de la Bastille.
This very tense climate seemed totally otherworldly to me..even if I experienced the incidents of Gare du Nord & CPE a while ago..my Belgian soul can't still understand the trauma of the French society and its frequent violence outbursts.

Brussels

2007-03-12T01:18:00.000+01:00

Brussels as it appears it my memories - a Distorted image.
My 'love/hate' relationship with this weird city started when I was living there.
Now I still feel like a part of me remained in this cold and depressing city.

Funkyzeit mit Bruno

2007-01-29T23:40:00.000+01:00

Sacha Baron Cohen (aka Ali G, Borat) is definitly "the man" !
His new character, gay Austrian Tv reporter Bruno, is just incredible.
All videos are a must see.

Entendu à Paris

2007-01-28T16:46:00.000+01:00

Certains internautes laissent trainer leurs oreilles dans les rues de Paname, et font part des petites phrases entendues ça et là sur ce site..à lire absolument !

Everyone needs a hug

2007-01-27T23:37:00.000+01:00

This guy just had a simple but excellent idea..
Free Hug anyone ?

Paris' outdated charm

2006-09-14T14:18:00.000+02:00

Belgian in Paris

2006-08-17T22:54:00.000+02:00

Click on the title to access a great side regarding the Belgian community (if such a thing exists..) settled in Paris. Lots of interesting information, even non-Belgian folks, just give it a try...(All information provided in French)

Paris, je t'aime

2006-07-23T23:28:00.000+02:00

Honestly, what else could I say while having the luxury of enjoying such a gorgeous city..
Have been staying here for six months, and I really can not get enough of it..I wish I could spend my nights and days visiting it.Week-ends are clearly not long enough.

Let's Meet in Paris

2006-05-08T23:54:00.000+02:00

When arriving in a new city or country, with the intention of staying there for a while you basically have two options to avoid spending all your nights & week ends in front of TV: option 1 is trying to make friends on your workplace, option 2 being that you try to socialize via interests groups. Option1 being not an option in France, you are left with option 2.
Luckilly, since I arrived I have been hanging around with great people, all of them being related to Meet in Paris website. Basically, it's an all volunteer network, non-profit organization with the objective of making it easier for people to meet new people when settling in a new city/country.
This week-end I really had an excellent Friday evening with these guys, hanging out in a bar near Bastille, and visiting the Petit Palais du Louvre on Sunday, ending it by a terasse in St Germain des prés..yeah expat life can really be THAT hard ;-) Anyway, check out their webiste, they deserve it!

16 truths about Paris

2006-04-21T00:41:00.000+02:00

Been living in Paris for a few months already, and getting used to it.
I Found the quotes below apply perfectly to Paris, even if they were originally intended for NYC.
Enjoy !

1.You secretly envy cabbies for their driving skill
2. You believe that being able to swear at people in their own language makes you multilingual.
3.The most frequently used part of your car is the horn.
4.You wear black a lot and act very elitist
5. You have over two month's rent in credit card debt, but you still eat out every night.
6. You give out your cell phone number to people you meet, because that is the best way to reach you
7. You have stayed out later than 4 am on a Monday or a Tuesday night.
8. You can't imagine eating dinner before 8 o'clock at night.
9.Not one of your adult friends is married, has a car, owns an apartment, or aspires to any of the above.
10.Your childhood bedroom is bigger than your current apartment, but your rent costs more than your parents' mortgage payment.
11. At least one meal each week consists solely of drinks, olives,and nuts.
12. You tell everyone you love NY because of the cultural institutions, but can't remember the last time you set foot in a museum or theater.
13. You take $150 with you every night you go out: $20 for cabs, $20 for cover, $60 for dinner, and $50 for drinks.
14. You have gone out on 3 dates with 3 different people in the same week, but haven't spoken to any of them since.
15. You wear Prada shoes, Gucci sunglasses, a Cartier watch, and cashmere, but claim to be poor.
16. You think the only places you could ever live are New York, Paris, London, San Francisco or on an island in the Caribbean

Didier Super For ever !

2005-12-26T20:00:00.000+01:00

Le show de Didier Super à Antoing (Tournai) a été la hauteur de nos espérances !
Pour ceux qui n'étaient pas là, voici une très maigre consolation ;-)

French Kitsch Heroes crashing a party soon

2005-12-12T15:22:00.000+01:00

The guys from the excellent web radio named 'Bide et Musique' are having another party on February 4 th in the heart of Paris, just nearby Notre Dame.
I already went there for a previous party, two years ago and it was really worth it ! The whole experience behind these parties (and the web radio) is to listen and dance to old kitsch tunes which any serious minded person would find totally unlistenable. Well, if you really wanna get it, you have to listen to the stream and to to watch the videos !
Be there or be nowhere !

Exercicing foreign languages in Brussels

2005-11-28T23:49:00.000+01:00

If you are living in Brussels and get bored chatting on the net with people living in countries you'll never visit anyway, there is a great opportunity you're missing: you can join le "cercle polyglotte de bruxelles" and meet lots of people speaking Dutch, English, Russian,German,Spanish, etc....and chat with them (in real life!), while having a good drink !
These chat sessions aren't like classes at all, it's just chat sessions organized by a private club (but their entrance fee doesn't look like they are one - it's really cheap) targetting an audience with at least a fair knowledge of one of the aforementioned language. Up to now, I have been attending these sessions only once but the amosphere was really laid back, yet productive.
This club hold sessions once a week in Etterbeek, near La Chasse/De Jacht. It's quite easy to reach with public transport or by car if you live in the south of the capital.
If you are solely looking for a chance to speak Dutch (and only Dutch), you can also try a great initiative called Babbelut. It's another (free) chat group and it's held every week in various areas of Brussels , check their website for more details. I usually attend the group in Ixelles and it's also pretty cool .

Back from the city of lights

2005-11-23T12:31:00.000+01:00

As mentionned earlier on this blog, I went on a trip to Paris..by accident, this trip took place while riots were happening in Paris suburbs'.
During my short trip, I was really stunned by the city's pretty face, and even the few locals I talked to were really nice to me..I even had the chance to see the president from a 10 meter distance of so - there was an official ceremony taking place in honor of General de Gaule - so what ?
At first sight, everything looked really great, but I really had a strange feeling: How was it possible that some youngsters living so close to this wonderful city were so desperate that they would set their neighbour's car on fire, or still 'better', their local kindergarden?
I had some kind of an explanation when I took the underground late in the evening to catch my train at the Gare du Nord: I experienced a problem with a young guy, while the station was full of police and soldiers..and the guy told me 'anyway, I've got nothing to loose'. I managed to exit from this situation with no damage, but I really understood Paris's suburbs is a timebomb, close to explosion...How do you stop people who think they have nothing to loose ? Surely not by delivering the kind of political mismanagement the way the last governments did..It's really time for a change..give these guys some hope..happy people don't burn cars.

Helping scientific research with your PC

2005-11-23T11:47:00.000+01:00

Today, while idling on the internet between two cover letters, I discovered a really great project: The World Community Grid is a non-profit project involving circa 100,000 volunteers, each of them contributing to healthcare scientific research in an original way. It's quite simple: Each volunteer installs a free software using idle computer resources to process scientific data, which creates a huge amount of cumulated calculation capacities available for scientific research.
Maybe some of you were already familiar with this computer network concept since with the Seti@Home project, with their quest for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. If you value the life of 40 millions fellow human beings living with HIV, it's worth giving a try to the World Community Grid's new project: FightAIDS@Home. The project's title is quite self explanatory.

No wonder Carl Lewis runs fast..he's vegan !

2005-10-24T16:32:00.000+02:00

The world famous afro-american sprinter Carl Lewis has written a very good preface for a book on vegetarism. This athlete has been vegan for years and is a living example of veganism being an healthy option. If you were concerned about your health on a vegan diet, it's one worry less now!

War Photographer

2005-10-18T12:40:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I went to the photo-club which I'm member of because the main subject featured on the program really appealed to me: It was about James Nachtwey, a war reporter.
The documentary we were shown was even stronger than what I expected at first. Images of death and suffering are something I will never get used to, and it doesn't seem like he does get used to it either.
What really surprised and impressed me, is the fact that he works so close to his subject: he uses a 50 mm in situations where other reporters use a 500mm, while hiding on a roof tops. In Palestine,for instance, he stood nearby kids throwing rocks at the israeli soldiers, while these were firing back with bullets and launching tear gas...and he didn't appear to wear a bullet-proof jacket !
With his courageous attitude of really sticking to his subject, he manages to capture emotions in a way that I never saw before.
Such an attitude might be considered as voyeuristic, as he stands so close to people in deep despair and suffering, but on the opposite, his attitude makes him stand out.
His interview and images carry a very harsh reality, but always with a sense of respect and humanity. In my opinion, this guy is an eternal optimist: He still believes Art will rescue humanity from its own hell.
Anyway, my words are not strong enough to tell you how much I worship this guy...as a photographer, I'll always remember the first lines from the movie:
"If your photos aren't good enough, it's because you aren't close enough".

One day-trip in Paris

2005-10-17T10:49:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I felt like I could offer myself a kind of of early birthday present..
Ok it's a lame excuse..the true reason is I really wanted to go back to Paris sooo badly -last time I was there I couldn't even get out of the bus, argh - and the latest Thalys promo - 38 euro for a return ticket - is such a steal !
It will definitly look like a typical 'japanese tourist day': shooting film all day long !
Come here late November for the pics !

Noir et Blanc

2005-10-17T10:39:00.000+02:00

Pour les lecteurs et lectrices francophones, je tiens à signaler que le numéro de novembre du magazine Réponses Photo est consacré au Noir et Blanc.
Comme à l'habitude, un dossier très complet et accessible à tous.
Pour celles et ceux que le Noir et Blanc argentique intéresse plus spécifiquement, je ne peux que recommander l'excellent ouvrage Noir et Blanc: de la prise de vue au tirage

Silver photography is not dead yet

2005-10-12T16:27:00.000+02:00

Since January 2005 I'm getting more and more into photography. At first I experimented with my digital camera, but I quickly felt the limitation of this all-automated stuff...push buttons device are easy but can also be very frustrating (some people could do an analogy with some OS developped in Redmont, but this isn't my style..). I quiclky switched to black and white with a good old Pratika camera. I enventually got myself a Canon EOS 33V along with a Tokina zoom 28-70 f2.8 and I realize I really got good value for my money (this zoom is such a steal for less than 300 euro!)
Of course, I considered going for a digital camera, but considering the price for a good digital DSLR and all the problems encountered to get decent prints at home or worse -at a minilab- I prefered staying on the safe side with silver photography. Sure it's a lot of work and you don't get to see everything immediatly right after you shot it, but on the other hand, it's really lots of fun and the results are quickly encouraging.
It might seem odd to some of the readers to start shooting film in 2005, when major industry players such as Kodak and Ilford have discontinued ranges of silver photography related products.The digital photography market is certainly a very lucrative business and silver photography (especially B&W) is becoming more of a niche market. Anyway, in a world were digital images (using 'images' and not 'photography' on purpose) have become common place, quality B&W pictures get the goods, especially among youngsters. The prophets announcing the death of analog photographys should look at history and read about the announced death of radio when TV arrived, death of theatre when cinema appeared..
Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti digital (it would be quite ironic), I really think both techniques can coexist.If you feel like it, please review my pictures posted on flickr.
PS:The internet also carries some quality information regarding silver photography, both on the technical and artistic side. Digital Truth is an excellent reference for those who are brave enough develop film at home, and Photosig is a great place where you can critique other's people work and post your own pics for review.

Linux for Human beings ?

2005-10-05T14:34:00.000+02:00

Some years ago I was already getting sick and tired by constant crashes of my pre-installed OS: you name it, Windows 98. I was using a budget computer bought from the local supermarket, and like the overwhelming majority of desktop users, I just asked my machine to flawlessly perform sipmle tasks like word processing and internet browsing. (Back then, I couldn't even dream of playing videos and all that fancy stuff I've got now)
I spent an awfull lot of time trying to install and re-install, tweak my OS but I could never reach a quite stable configuration and therefore was stuck in the cycles of "format-reinstall" every 3 to 6 month. In a moment of deep despair, I called a friend of mine wich already told me about Linux and its qualities.
So, we painfully tried to configure Debian on my machine, but the X-server wouldn't configure right (apparently my intel vga chipset was not suported out of the box) and I couldn't picture myself using my computer with a Konsole instead of a nice graphic interface.
So, I carried on with Win98 until I bought myself some new hardware and installed Win XP.
I must admit I was impressed by the newly acquired stability of this product, but was also surprised by the huge amount of RAM used by the sole system start up !
Later on, I also discovered the "format-reinstall' cycle was not complete history...the most irritating part of this whole thing, is that when I had a tiny problem with a component of the OS or one of the software, Windows won't give me the opportunity to see what's really going on and provide me with an appropriate way of fixing the problem adequately...you want an example ? ok, here it is: For no reason that I could think of, the file manager 'explorer.exe' started to crash every now and then (which is REALLY a pain in the a**) so I tried to find a solution on various tech support forums but all these cheap hacks didn't work..so, I tried to repair the OS by
re-installing the system files using the installation CD. I did it..and it crashed at boot up with a neat BSOD !Man, I was soooo angry..lucky me my data are not located on my C:, but I had to reinstall the OS, all the programs + the drivers...I couldn't take it anymore!
So I decided to try the much-talked-about Ubuntu distribution..and this was really a BIG surprise: The installation was really neat, no fancy screens like one can have with Mandrivia, but very clear instructions, network and most of the harware recognize out-of-the box (except scanner and webcam, didn't try printer yet).
The installation of the various media players and codecs was also straightforward...I was fully operational with usual desktop applications (word processor, dvd and media players, browser, IM client and mail client) in less than a day. This was really a big difference with all the hassles I encountered when trying to configure Debian a few years ago...
So, for the time being I still boot win xp for applications such as cd-burning and Photoshop, but I really enjoy the rock solid stability of my Ubuntu sytem and its REAL mutlitasking abilities..
So, if you always thought about using Linux but thought it was not worth the hassle, try Ubuntu.

Getting Started

2005-10-05T13:47:00.000+02:00

OK..my first message on my first blog ever..yeah, i'm already an old hag (approaching 30's..wow, it 's really scarry), and for a long time I really didn't feel the need to create and maintain a blog.
I suppose I always considered this activity like a vague teenage hobby being all about showing your dog's pics to your friend or posing in a wife beater shirt in front of your webcam pretenting you're Eminem..but eventually I realized I really enjoyed browsing through some interresting blogs.
Ok, most of them are still about sharing your problems with people who couldn't care less, but the remaining few did really provide me with valuable information on loads of different subjects, ranging from veganism and ecology to open source software. So, to wrap it up, I'm starting this experience with the hope that sharing content with you will give you some food for thought or at least a good laughter ;-)