The only way to prove a point is to prove it from proper experiences. You can get inspiration out of books and other people's thoughts but nothing is as strong as what you encounter yourself. Putting up with the pointless hastiness that drives most of us is probably the hardest thing I ever did. Everything is black and white, a cult that feeds from the weak individuals that occupy this earth. It sounds harsh but diversity seems to scare the living shit out of most of us and God knows why. However much I regret it, I cannot for the smallest bit put into words what goes on in that mad head of mine everyday but believe me that ain't a loss. Every single thing is a blur and it's like the repeat button's always on. Creating a buzz by using intoxicators helps to cope with the monotomy of everything but it is far from being a solution. The worst thing is however that there are very few real solutions to problems which, for most among us, aren't even an issue.
To elaborate on the latter, solutions can be found in the smallest of things. Change the record that's playing and take a left instead of a right turn. It's easy to experience a revalation if you really want to. It's the change in every wee thing that brings thought, wisdom and sheer happiness. Patterns, patterns, patterns, no, they won't bring you anything. Moreover they'll eventually bring uncreativity and boredom.
Isn't it horrifying that people look reluctantly at minorities, while, most of the time, they have experienced way more and have more to say than your average Joe. It's the travelling mind, the mind that walks the streets looking for new opportunities and adventures that will decease with satisfaction, not John or Jane Doe at their office desks.
Sunday, 1 August 2010
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
All hail the lonely
He said good morning to the city with his eyes fixed on the road. People banaly babbling all around him. Traffic lights changing, but only when he's approaching them. The tough young kids wolf-whistle at the honeys that sashay past them. Trying to smile at everyone, he gets nothing but an impolite grin. Filled with implosive anger he moves ahead and reacts only to the rhythm flowing out of that headphone of his. He finds friends in old literature and gets stoned on the ink that he absorbs out of his books. He is companionless but does not care.
Loneliness adds beauty to life. It gives the stars in the sky an extra twinkle and puts a special burn on sunsets. He is not an alienated crank but a human being with a goal. It's all just a means to an end to attain what he really wants; a revelation. Despite all misfortune he persists in order to achieve a higher meaning. The Turkish always said "forget regret, or life is yours to miss". Whatever be your misfortune or "failure" it's not worth a sorrow.
Regretting, however, is a normal human response. Regretting is a logical step and a banal action in our day-to-day activities. To be quite blunt I'd like to say that I don't really believe in regrets. Regretting is a strong and important factor in Emotional Intelligence, but what's the benefit of feeling sorrow or remorse for a past activity? Why live in retrospect when there's nothing you can change about what happened before?
Wouldn't it just be better to throw all possible form of regret overboard? Do the things that are really important to you, be ambitious, adventurous and try new things, it really doesn't matter how they work out eventually. Every second can change ones life so we shouldn't waste our time on regrets. Moreover, regretting is a sign of uncertainty and weakness. People who have to cope with remorse and sorrow tend to be more fragile and harmful than those neglecting past "failures". We should focus more on our proper goals instead of on those of others. Get inspiration out of literature and look deep into our own core. Don't regret mistakes cause without them you'll get nowhere. Therefore I conclude: "All hail the lonely"
Loneliness adds beauty to life. It gives the stars in the sky an extra twinkle and puts a special burn on sunsets. He is not an alienated crank but a human being with a goal. It's all just a means to an end to attain what he really wants; a revelation. Despite all misfortune he persists in order to achieve a higher meaning. The Turkish always said "forget regret, or life is yours to miss". Whatever be your misfortune or "failure" it's not worth a sorrow.
Regretting, however, is a normal human response. Regretting is a logical step and a banal action in our day-to-day activities. To be quite blunt I'd like to say that I don't really believe in regrets. Regretting is a strong and important factor in Emotional Intelligence, but what's the benefit of feeling sorrow or remorse for a past activity? Why live in retrospect when there's nothing you can change about what happened before?
Wouldn't it just be better to throw all possible form of regret overboard? Do the things that are really important to you, be ambitious, adventurous and try new things, it really doesn't matter how they work out eventually. Every second can change ones life so we shouldn't waste our time on regrets. Moreover, regretting is a sign of uncertainty and weakness. People who have to cope with remorse and sorrow tend to be more fragile and harmful than those neglecting past "failures". We should focus more on our proper goals instead of on those of others. Get inspiration out of literature and look deep into our own core. Don't regret mistakes cause without them you'll get nowhere. Therefore I conclude: "All hail the lonely"
Saturday, 19 September 2009
To the limit!
It's all about respecting moral fiber and following the rails that were well built in advance. Or at least that's what we are ought to say. If your life is built on certainty and safety you can for the better skip the first 30 years of your life and restart it from then on. It's all about pushing yourself to the limit. The thing about that all is that people are afraid of what might happen, afraid of the consequences that these events might imply. But, honestly, there's nothing that beats measuring yourself. You need to learn to go to the bone, whatever it brings, whatever the consequences. Measuring yourself in no matter what way is a spiritual experience that escapes so many of us. Try it and accept the consequences and there will always be a new goal to attain!
Saturday, 29 August 2009
Bommy, the talented English tramp
James Redfield believes that everything happens for a reason. He wrote that in his book the celestine prophecy. No, I am not saying that I agree on everything he asserted but I must confess that he caught my attention here. I started thinking about every little thing that crossed my path, every word I uttered and every step I took. Was I really doing all of this in a certain way just to achieve a goal? Was I meeting new people for a reason? Was I taking the car instead of my bycicle cause it would influence the further course of my life? Quite confusing but in a way it all makes sence.
The previous paragraph actually serves as a general introduction to a story that happened not so long ago. One night in Antwerp we decided to go and have a drink in a local Jazz bar. With we I mean a friend of mine called Rob and myself. I've known him since kindergarten, so we do go way back, but that's quite irrelevant at this point. Nevertheless we walked all the way up to a bar called "Buster". Arriving at what seemed a dull and loathsome pub we didn't at all know what to expect. Waiting outsided we started talking to a guy who had some cymbals on him. As we are not complete retards we guessed he would be the drummer for the band playing later that night(which he wasn't). After a five-minute-chat a rather drunk English guy, dressed in worn down clothes who should by the way really buy some deodorant abruptly joined us. He was carrying an old guitarbag which seemed to be containing a guitar as well.
After not paying attention to the tramp who ran in to us we decided to enter the pub we came to visit at last. What we however did not expect was that the smelly vagabond would follow us inside to talk to us. He entered the pub and asked the barmaid if he could play some songs, as the band had not arrived yet. The barmaid, however, did not know what to say so agreed to his urging request. It was nevertheless obvious that she regretted her decision the minute she uttered the words: "Yeah, go ahead". The barmaid, friendly as she was, asked the English guy if he wanted something to drink, to which he answered that he would like a Duvel. He waddled onto the stage and released his guitar out of its bag. It was a red Richwood acoustic guitar. Richwood guitars are these better kind of budget guitars which can produce some solid tunes if you know how to play them.
The English guy audaciously mounted the stage and grabbed his guitar. Now, music can't be put in writing but I'll try to capture it by using the word "mindblowing". It was truly unbelievable. The guy brought this old kind of English rock with some Irish influences. It was like mixing the dubliners with the rawness and I don't-give-a-shit-attitude of let's say Liam Gallagher. If you closed your eyes for just a second, noone would be able to hear the difference between a semi-profesional rockartist and the tramp playing on this little stage in a dark bar in Antwerp. What a surprise that was...
After having played a couple of songs he modestly stepped off stage. Even though there were only about 15 people in the bar they all seemed to buy the poor English guy some drinks. They congratulated him on his performance but he didn't seem to care much about that. When he walked passed me and my friend we started talking to him. He told us that that was just what he liked doing. "Music is me passion mate, I don't want to make a living out of it". He told us almost everything there was to know about him, or at least that's what he told us.
Bommy was born in Coventry; England and has been living in Antwerp since 2001. He travelled the world from Japan to New Zealand but he only had three real homes. Coventry, Dublin and now Antwerp. He didn't really get a job anywhere but just tried to get around by playing his songs in the streets. "It didn't make me rich but I could buy me a bread and something to drink". He insisted on the fact that there was nothing as important than following what you believe and doing what you really want to. "I've seen people collapse numerous times pursuing things they couldn't handle or didn't want to go after". Moving to Antwerp, he met a girl with who he lived there for about 7.5 years and who recently dumbed him. They have a boy called Rod. Bommy said that Rod was really proud of his father, which clearly meant a lot to him.
Now we talked to Bommy for about an hour I guess and I'm not embarassed to admit that it was one of the most valuable conversations I had in quite a while. For it's not often that you encounter a true vivid realization of life in its most pure form. Bommy is not afraid to live the life people don't tell him to live. Bommy doesn't give a damn about what others think. Albeit everything he had been through, Bommy was one of the most joyful and satisfied people I ever met. As to James Redfield, I strongly believe that this didn't just happen randomnly.
The previous paragraph actually serves as a general introduction to a story that happened not so long ago. One night in Antwerp we decided to go and have a drink in a local Jazz bar. With we I mean a friend of mine called Rob and myself. I've known him since kindergarten, so we do go way back, but that's quite irrelevant at this point. Nevertheless we walked all the way up to a bar called "Buster". Arriving at what seemed a dull and loathsome pub we didn't at all know what to expect. Waiting outsided we started talking to a guy who had some cymbals on him. As we are not complete retards we guessed he would be the drummer for the band playing later that night(which he wasn't). After a five-minute-chat a rather drunk English guy, dressed in worn down clothes who should by the way really buy some deodorant abruptly joined us. He was carrying an old guitarbag which seemed to be containing a guitar as well.
After not paying attention to the tramp who ran in to us we decided to enter the pub we came to visit at last. What we however did not expect was that the smelly vagabond would follow us inside to talk to us. He entered the pub and asked the barmaid if he could play some songs, as the band had not arrived yet. The barmaid, however, did not know what to say so agreed to his urging request. It was nevertheless obvious that she regretted her decision the minute she uttered the words: "Yeah, go ahead". The barmaid, friendly as she was, asked the English guy if he wanted something to drink, to which he answered that he would like a Duvel. He waddled onto the stage and released his guitar out of its bag. It was a red Richwood acoustic guitar. Richwood guitars are these better kind of budget guitars which can produce some solid tunes if you know how to play them.
The English guy audaciously mounted the stage and grabbed his guitar. Now, music can't be put in writing but I'll try to capture it by using the word "mindblowing". It was truly unbelievable. The guy brought this old kind of English rock with some Irish influences. It was like mixing the dubliners with the rawness and I don't-give-a-shit-attitude of let's say Liam Gallagher. If you closed your eyes for just a second, noone would be able to hear the difference between a semi-profesional rockartist and the tramp playing on this little stage in a dark bar in Antwerp. What a surprise that was...
After having played a couple of songs he modestly stepped off stage. Even though there were only about 15 people in the bar they all seemed to buy the poor English guy some drinks. They congratulated him on his performance but he didn't seem to care much about that. When he walked passed me and my friend we started talking to him. He told us that that was just what he liked doing. "Music is me passion mate, I don't want to make a living out of it". He told us almost everything there was to know about him, or at least that's what he told us.
Bommy was born in Coventry; England and has been living in Antwerp since 2001. He travelled the world from Japan to New Zealand but he only had three real homes. Coventry, Dublin and now Antwerp. He didn't really get a job anywhere but just tried to get around by playing his songs in the streets. "It didn't make me rich but I could buy me a bread and something to drink". He insisted on the fact that there was nothing as important than following what you believe and doing what you really want to. "I've seen people collapse numerous times pursuing things they couldn't handle or didn't want to go after". Moving to Antwerp, he met a girl with who he lived there for about 7.5 years and who recently dumbed him. They have a boy called Rod. Bommy said that Rod was really proud of his father, which clearly meant a lot to him.
Now we talked to Bommy for about an hour I guess and I'm not embarassed to admit that it was one of the most valuable conversations I had in quite a while. For it's not often that you encounter a true vivid realization of life in its most pure form. Bommy is not afraid to live the life people don't tell him to live. Bommy doesn't give a damn about what others think. Albeit everything he had been through, Bommy was one of the most joyful and satisfied people I ever met. As to James Redfield, I strongly believe that this didn't just happen randomnly.
Sunday, 21 June 2009
I.
I just kept on walking till there was no way back anymore. My eyes were the path and that path turned into a road. The lines on the edge of the road became an endeavor and those lines, they never stopped. My craving for more ravished my ability to think rationally. A second can change ones life they say, but I did not care. Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours, hours became days, days months and months years and still I was taking things one step at a time.
Thursday, 15 January 2009
As fame is killing the artist
What's in a hero ? I am not trying to give you people a feeling of shakesperean nostalgy, not at all, I just thought that would be good as an opening phrase which would of course be followed by a couple of introductory phrases, which are actually good fillers but don't mean a thing.
Nevertheless, I rephrase, alter and ask my question: " What's a hero ? ". Most people think of a hero as a person who can do things he or she can't or even things he or she can't do quite as well. Football players, musicians, politicians or models, heroes come in all shapes and forms, but mostly have one thing in common, they're famous. So, do people have a pathological urge for fame or is that just an irrationally drawn conclusion?
And What's in fame ? What we sometimes tend to forget is that all people are equal, no one is better than another and noone means less either. Now, you can gain or lose sympathy as well as admiration and satisfaction in what you do but is that really the reason to admire fame? I do believe that every single one among us has got something he or she is really good at. The difference however is that some abilities attract media, others might be of other relevance and even others will never be discovered. More than half the people never discover their "specific ability " and therefore continue their lives admiring others, which in fact is quite foolish and naive.
Nevertheless, I rephrase, alter and ask my question: " What's a hero ? ". Most people think of a hero as a person who can do things he or she can't or even things he or she can't do quite as well. Football players, musicians, politicians or models, heroes come in all shapes and forms, but mostly have one thing in common, they're famous. So, do people have a pathological urge for fame or is that just an irrationally drawn conclusion?
And What's in fame ? What we sometimes tend to forget is that all people are equal, no one is better than another and noone means less either. Now, you can gain or lose sympathy as well as admiration and satisfaction in what you do but is that really the reason to admire fame? I do believe that every single one among us has got something he or she is really good at. The difference however is that some abilities attract media, others might be of other relevance and even others will never be discovered. More than half the people never discover their "specific ability " and therefore continue their lives admiring others, which in fact is quite foolish and naive.
Nonetheless my great disregards towards fame I will never contend plain admiration to be wrong or foolish, no, I even admit that for some people, it is good to have a role model, someone to look up to. The only thing you should really keep in mind is to pursue your own dreams and be sure you do not get stuck in other people's lives, cause you'll always do things differently, whether you want it or not.
It is a good thing to try as much as possible in life, only by doing that you might have a chance of discovering the things you are really good at. Life is a sick cycle carousel, try to get out of it every once and a while.
It is a good thing to try as much as possible in life, only by doing that you might have a chance of discovering the things you are really good at. Life is a sick cycle carousel, try to get out of it every once and a while.
Saturday, 6 December 2008
Fooling everyone
It is quite odd, but if you think about it, you could actually live your whole life fooling everyone. Fascinating isn't it. Don't you just love fooling everyone? At any time, you can be the only person who truly knows who you really are. Make them believe that they do know you, and they just might to some extent, but keep some open space for gullibility. The latter might even come in handy some day. You can really achieve things you could not imagine in your naughtiest dreams, and this by just relying on other people's naiveté.
I realise that I do not at all sound benevolent saying this, but isn't it partly my job to show you that there are more pleasant ways to live your life than ordinary till death?
Everyone is always babbling about the cost of living these days. Broaden your minds people, everything is free, if you want it to be. In these times of misery we have got to rely on our fantasy, let our dreams take us to places we could scarcely imagine. Just believe. Believe in what you will never get and in what will never happen, picture it, and float away on your very own fantasies.
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Changes
Sometimes you’ve got to make decisions that change your life
Whether you want it or not
You will have to make sacrifices
Our being is not a thing of giving and taking,
It is one of reduplicating, faking and stature
Many among us don’t even have a clue
About what really matters
About what will change everything eventually
Living that rut, slavishly, without your own share
Not having a choice
For no worse answer exists
I follow myself into the dark
I don’t keep in what’s meant to come out
I’ll never have regrets
No regrets, for nothing
As I am who I am
I stand strong
I won’t give in
I won’t give up
Just live your own life
Don’t drink coffee out of a cup
Whether you want it or not
You will have to make sacrifices
Our being is not a thing of giving and taking,
It is one of reduplicating, faking and stature
Many among us don’t even have a clue
About what really matters
About what will change everything eventually
Living that rut, slavishly, without your own share
Not having a choice
For no worse answer exists
I follow myself into the dark
I don’t keep in what’s meant to come out
I’ll never have regrets
No regrets, for nothing
As I am who I am
I stand strong
I won’t give in
I won’t give up
Just live your own life
Don’t drink coffee out of a cup
Friday, 9 May 2008
True beauty
True beauty is hard to find and therefore something special. It is something really personal. Every person has another view on what beauty is and what qualifies for it. Beauty is claimed to be rare and people often contend it to be slowly declining and even assert that it will vanish after a certain period of time.
I will tell you a little secret by saying that actually everything you want to be beautiful can be. Just get your asses up to a nearby park all by yourself and seat yourself onto a little bench in the centre of all the green. Then just take a minute to try to find your innerpeace or innerself, whatever those philosophers always say, after which you should just take a look around and observe the scenery, scrutinize every little thing you see. People passing by, trees losing leaves, ants gathering and bringing home something to eat, one single grass halm flying its way to the stars,... Ain't that what beauty is all about?
Beauty can be so banal while most people consider it to be way too complex and farfetched. Enjoy all the small things that surround you and all the people that support you, just enjoy everything that you consider worth living for. Probably one of the most commonly used sentences in a man's life is " Life's too short", but can anyone contradict it ? Instead of being on a constant quest for beauty, just for once, try to create it yourself. Relativize the ugly things in life and turn them into acceptable or maybe even pretty things.
I will tell you a little secret by saying that actually everything you want to be beautiful can be. Just get your asses up to a nearby park all by yourself and seat yourself onto a little bench in the centre of all the green. Then just take a minute to try to find your innerpeace or innerself, whatever those philosophers always say, after which you should just take a look around and observe the scenery, scrutinize every little thing you see. People passing by, trees losing leaves, ants gathering and bringing home something to eat, one single grass halm flying its way to the stars,... Ain't that what beauty is all about?
Beauty can be so banal while most people consider it to be way too complex and farfetched. Enjoy all the small things that surround you and all the people that support you, just enjoy everything that you consider worth living for. Probably one of the most commonly used sentences in a man's life is " Life's too short", but can anyone contradict it ? Instead of being on a constant quest for beauty, just for once, try to create it yourself. Relativize the ugly things in life and turn them into acceptable or maybe even pretty things.
Sunday, 13 April 2008
Nutsism: " on solving a bittered universe "
You can read it in every newspaper, hear it from every politician and most importantly, notice it yourself: " It's a sick world we're living in ", and I mean this in every single meaning of the word sick. People nowadays are shallow, self-centred and live their lives the way people expect them to live them. However it has slowly been intergrating, sex is and will always be taboo, whereas it's only a way for humans to enjoy themselves in the most intimate way. When you think about it, isn't life about doing what you really feel like doing, without any kind of remorse. People spend their lives doing things they do not want to do more than half the time.
Christopher McCandless travelled his way all the way up to Alaska by backpack and with not a penny on him and moreover without giving anyone notice of his plans. Why ? Cause he was tired of that same old rut and honestly felt like doing so.
Sonya Ferguson, a 19 year old girl who grew up in Vancouver, spent 300 $ on a planeticket to Europe, stopped her education and is now travelling Europe, living from paycheck to paycheck.
Why ? Cause she felt like doing so, she wanted to see the world, and hey, can you blame her?
These are just two examples of ordinary people, chasing their dreams. One can only find true happyness when one decides to chase what they long for.
Like many nostalgic punkbands write in their lyrics : " Politics are to blame ". It's all about power, the strongest wins the election, the richest becomes president and whatfor? We believe in freedom, we believe in equality and most importantly we believe in pursuing true happiness.
We are the founders of " Nutsism ". We are no political party nor a sect or revolting organization. We are just a group of people who share the same ideas. Today, we would like to share these ideas with the world.
More questions about nutsism, just contact us : nutsism@live.be
Christopher McCandless travelled his way all the way up to Alaska by backpack and with not a penny on him and moreover without giving anyone notice of his plans. Why ? Cause he was tired of that same old rut and honestly felt like doing so.
Sonya Ferguson, a 19 year old girl who grew up in Vancouver, spent 300 $ on a planeticket to Europe, stopped her education and is now travelling Europe, living from paycheck to paycheck.
Why ? Cause she felt like doing so, she wanted to see the world, and hey, can you blame her?
These are just two examples of ordinary people, chasing their dreams. One can only find true happyness when one decides to chase what they long for.
Like many nostalgic punkbands write in their lyrics : " Politics are to blame ". It's all about power, the strongest wins the election, the richest becomes president and whatfor? We believe in freedom, we believe in equality and most importantly we believe in pursuing true happiness.
We are the founders of " Nutsism ". We are no political party nor a sect or revolting organization. We are just a group of people who share the same ideas. Today, we would like to share these ideas with the world.
More questions about nutsism, just contact us : nutsism@live.be
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Air Traffic [ Brussels, 28-02-08 ]
I'm a sucker for good music, but aren't we all ? I'm fond of British rock, which is getting more and more popular the last couple of years. I believe enumerating those popular bands to be a bit redundant as we all know most of them. The newest hype in British rock, however, is "Air Traffic". Air Traffic, a relatively young band, launched a heck of a record, called " My fractured life ". On first sight, it seems to be a soft version of that other great British rockband called " Muse ", but I must say, after a few listens, they actually really create their own sound. It's quite the mixture of a sort of melancholic pop rock mixed with that heavier rock sound, sensitive pianowork and the amazing voice of leading vocals Chris Wall.
I was totally into " My fractured life ", when a friend of mine told me they we're coming to Belgium to play one gig in the " AB "in Brussels. We immediately booked our tickets as the AB ain't at all that big. And it was only €21 so that was quite o.k. as well. Now, last week the moment of truth finely arrived so we took our asses up to Brussels, which is quite close to Antwerp. ( Where I live in digs )
The supporting band was the promising Belgian formation " Mint ". I had already seen them on the Pukkelpop-festival a couple of years ago so I knew what to expect. They bring this friendly kind of soft rock with a fairly special but enjoyable voice and great guitar-riffs. They couldn't really drag me on last time but they totally could this time. Promising band !
And then "pour le moment suprême " like the French put it so beautifully, the spotlights went out and the crowd, which consisted of me and my friends and a thousand hysterical young girls between 12 and 17, went completely berserk. Believe me, I've had my deal of concerts, gigs and festivals but I genuinely never ever heard such a noise coming from some squealing girls. When the bandmembers finally came on to the stage they started by playing a new song, which sounded quite well. After which they started playing every single song of " my fractured life ", quite logical as that is their only album so far. Their live-performance really was enjoyable and exalted or even sublime. They really did surprise me musically and even more vocally, never thought that the leadsinger could reach every one of them high and low notes but he did that easily.
It was an amazing concert, no doubt about that, but if I should have to come up with one negative aspect of their performance it would be that really easy and maybe even lame " we want more formula ". After playing their " last song ", they hadn't played " shooting star " yet, which of course is their best known hitsong, as they knew the crowd would be going to yell for more. I'm not the one who would go and deny the fact that I wouldn't yell it too, in order to hear that one hitsong before they pack up and leave but still, I found it kind of easy.
Nevertheless I could conclude, and I think I'm speaking for my friends who joined me as well, by saying that Air Traffic is a rising and promising young band with great musicians, insane leading vocals, a great debute-album and one heck of a live-performance. If any one of you get the opportunity to enjoy them in real life, do not hesitate. I'm thinking Rock Werchter?
I was totally into " My fractured life ", when a friend of mine told me they we're coming to Belgium to play one gig in the " AB "in Brussels. We immediately booked our tickets as the AB ain't at all that big. And it was only €21 so that was quite o.k. as well. Now, last week the moment of truth finely arrived so we took our asses up to Brussels, which is quite close to Antwerp. ( Where I live in digs )
The supporting band was the promising Belgian formation " Mint ". I had already seen them on the Pukkelpop-festival a couple of years ago so I knew what to expect. They bring this friendly kind of soft rock with a fairly special but enjoyable voice and great guitar-riffs. They couldn't really drag me on last time but they totally could this time. Promising band !
And then "pour le moment suprême " like the French put it so beautifully, the spotlights went out and the crowd, which consisted of me and my friends and a thousand hysterical young girls between 12 and 17, went completely berserk. Believe me, I've had my deal of concerts, gigs and festivals but I genuinely never ever heard such a noise coming from some squealing girls. When the bandmembers finally came on to the stage they started by playing a new song, which sounded quite well. After which they started playing every single song of " my fractured life ", quite logical as that is their only album so far. Their live-performance really was enjoyable and exalted or even sublime. They really did surprise me musically and even more vocally, never thought that the leadsinger could reach every one of them high and low notes but he did that easily.
It was an amazing concert, no doubt about that, but if I should have to come up with one negative aspect of their performance it would be that really easy and maybe even lame " we want more formula ". After playing their " last song ", they hadn't played " shooting star " yet, which of course is their best known hitsong, as they knew the crowd would be going to yell for more. I'm not the one who would go and deny the fact that I wouldn't yell it too, in order to hear that one hitsong before they pack up and leave but still, I found it kind of easy.
Nevertheless I could conclude, and I think I'm speaking for my friends who joined me as well, by saying that Air Traffic is a rising and promising young band with great musicians, insane leading vocals, a great debute-album and one heck of a live-performance. If any one of you get the opportunity to enjoy them in real life, do not hesitate. I'm thinking Rock Werchter?
Monday, 11 February 2008
Bad luck, South Park and Emma Watson
As mentioned earlier on, some Spanish acquaintances of ours invited me and a friend of mine to come and visit them in Oxford as we had a week off. Having been there already we knew exactly what was worth a visit, where to grab a bite and of course where to go out. An overwhelming city, free accommodation and that in only 1 hour and 51 minutes by High-speed rail.
Nevertheless we had already explored the place thoroughly, we had to deal with a great amount of bad luck during the very beginning of our little week off. Having left our hometown [Mol, BE ] at 7,57 local time, everything went pretty smooth, just chatting a bit about how this holiday would be the best one ever. We knew we had to change trains and platforms in a city called Herentals, but we arrived there a while before we expected to. Both panicking, we rapidly gathered all our belongings and ran for our next train, which left 4 minutes after we arrived. Making it right on time, my friend noticed he forgot his trolley ( containing my coat, his shoes and presents for the Spanish people we were going to ). At that very moment we saw our previous train taking off as our new one made a departing sound, so we got on board of the new one and we left for Brussels. At that point we were both sitting there quite confused. After half an hour of relativizing our loss we arrived at " Bruxelles-midi ", our final Belgian trainstation at that point. At about 10.59 English time our journey finally commenced for real as our High-speed rail left for London. In fewer than 2 hours we arrived at London St. Pancras, spared from all possible kinds of delays. At that moment we had about 40 minutes to take our "Megabus" to Oxford for as little as £1 ( single-trip ). After a 2 hour ride in a 150-seat bus with two, we were driven into that picturesque city called Oxford once again.
The Spanish people we were staying with rented a house just outside the city centre, in a small street just off Cowley road called St. Mary's street. Our house was nice, small and cosy. It was still quite empty as they just moved in. It was as if the 4 people in the house were actually living in digs, everybody had their own room and the kitchen and living room were used as a common room. Moreover, the street we were in seemed to be occupied by students only, which improved the friendly "neighbourhood-atmosphere".
The first day wasn't quite that fertile cause we were really at an end when we arrived over there at about 19.00 local time. After a good night of sleep we got up early to visit Christ church college as we had only visited the meadow and the surrounding buildings last time. Christ Church University is an overwhelming building that is still used to give University sessions in law for lawstudents at Oxford University. The most surprising and impressive thing about Christ Church college is the fact that a lot of scenes from the first two "Harry Potter" movies and the "Golden Compass" were filmed over there. Me and my friend had both seen the Harry Potter-series and The Golden Compass already, so it was fairly odd to actually walk onto the "filmset". Next to that, being the last persons visiting the building that day, we talked to the safety-guards for a while and they told us some secrets about the building: secret doors, shutters and things that happened in and around the building. We felt as if we were in a magical world full of secret entrances, hidden marks and striking narratives.
Going out the same evening, there was a guy who litteraly seemed to know every single girl in the whole club as he was talking to and dancing with every one of them. We wanted to know what this was all about so we took up our self-esteem and went to talk to him. He was really friendly and eloquent and told us that he just knew all of these girls well and so on. So we were like: " don't you have a girlfriend then ?" And he went like: " yeah dude, do you know her? " We were standing there, totally surprised by his response, after which we asked him: " We've been talking to you for about 10 minutes, how the hell could we know your girlfriend ". Whereas he responded, going like: " yeah, she's kind of famous mate, Emma Watson, Hermione, after which he threw us an asking look to see if we had like heard of her already, which we had of course.
Nevertheless we had already explored the place thoroughly, we had to deal with a great amount of bad luck during the very beginning of our little week off. Having left our hometown [Mol, BE ] at 7,57 local time, everything went pretty smooth, just chatting a bit about how this holiday would be the best one ever. We knew we had to change trains and platforms in a city called Herentals, but we arrived there a while before we expected to. Both panicking, we rapidly gathered all our belongings and ran for our next train, which left 4 minutes after we arrived. Making it right on time, my friend noticed he forgot his trolley ( containing my coat, his shoes and presents for the Spanish people we were going to ). At that very moment we saw our previous train taking off as our new one made a departing sound, so we got on board of the new one and we left for Brussels. At that point we were both sitting there quite confused. After half an hour of relativizing our loss we arrived at " Bruxelles-midi ", our final Belgian trainstation at that point. At about 10.59 English time our journey finally commenced for real as our High-speed rail left for London. In fewer than 2 hours we arrived at London St. Pancras, spared from all possible kinds of delays. At that moment we had about 40 minutes to take our "Megabus" to Oxford for as little as £1 ( single-trip ). After a 2 hour ride in a 150-seat bus with two, we were driven into that picturesque city called Oxford once again.
The Spanish people we were staying with rented a house just outside the city centre, in a small street just off Cowley road called St. Mary's street. Our house was nice, small and cosy. It was still quite empty as they just moved in. It was as if the 4 people in the house were actually living in digs, everybody had their own room and the kitchen and living room were used as a common room. Moreover, the street we were in seemed to be occupied by students only, which improved the friendly "neighbourhood-atmosphere".
The first day wasn't quite that fertile cause we were really at an end when we arrived over there at about 19.00 local time. After a good night of sleep we got up early to visit Christ church college as we had only visited the meadow and the surrounding buildings last time. Christ Church University is an overwhelming building that is still used to give University sessions in law for lawstudents at Oxford University. The most surprising and impressive thing about Christ Church college is the fact that a lot of scenes from the first two "Harry Potter" movies and the "Golden Compass" were filmed over there. Me and my friend had both seen the Harry Potter-series and The Golden Compass already, so it was fairly odd to actually walk onto the "filmset". Next to that, being the last persons visiting the building that day, we talked to the safety-guards for a while and they told us some secrets about the building: secret doors, shutters and things that happened in and around the building. We felt as if we were in a magical world full of secret entrances, hidden marks and striking narratives.
Going out the same evening, there was a guy who litteraly seemed to know every single girl in the whole club as he was talking to and dancing with every one of them. We wanted to know what this was all about so we took up our self-esteem and went to talk to him. He was really friendly and eloquent and told us that he just knew all of these girls well and so on. So we were like: " don't you have a girlfriend then ?" And he went like: " yeah dude, do you know her? " We were standing there, totally surprised by his response, after which we asked him: " We've been talking to you for about 10 minutes, how the hell could we know your girlfriend ". Whereas he responded, going like: " yeah, she's kind of famous mate, Emma Watson, Hermione, after which he threw us an asking look to see if we had like heard of her already, which we had of course.I had the impression that he really loved telling us about his girlfriend and sort of loved bragging about her as well. Nevertheless his bragging, he honestly seemed really nice and friendly. We were quite curious about how it feels like to date a celebrity and stuff and he answered all our questions with great pleasure. When we left the club we asked him to join us to go to another local pub. I think he really felt like doing that but he decided not to, cause he had an important match the day afterwards. When we finally arrived back at our crib we wanted to know if he was really Emma Watson's boyfriend and not some kind of lonely hypocrite, so that's why we googled his first name: Tom ( that's all we actually knew ) together with "Emma Watson". The result was as expected, there were loads of articles about and pictures of Emma Watson and her boyfriend Tom Ducker, who seems to be a famous rugby player... Quite a Harry Potter coloured day that was!
Now the most striking thing of all is the fact that the day we arrived back home, [ Belgium ] I was flipping through the Newspaper and there was an article about this same Harry Potter-star, seeing razorlightsinger and ex-Kirsten Dunst boyfriend Johnny Borrell. I guess my mind really is too small to capture all this. Hollywood, it's a world apart. ( But then still, how do we know for sure, that the press ain't jumping to conclusions too rapidly ? )
O.K., I know that was quite a story, but seriously though, how could I not mention that? I should nevertheless mention that albeit that Tom Ducker being a "womanizer" and stuff, British girls are kind of different from other girls: more eloquent, less shy and very forthcoming. To give you a clear example about this I could say that when, in a club, a British girl likes you, she doesn't hesitate a single second to make an effort to seduce you. I can assure you that this is quite the surprise when you're not used to that.
Waking up the morning afterwards, that little devil called Murphy appeared once again. The house we were staying at, had these enormously annoying doors that locked themselves when they'd accidentally shut. So one morning, my friend went to go and take a shower when I ran after him to tell him he forgot his towel. At that point the door shut right behind me, with the key still being inside. The worst thing about this all was that I was standing there in a strange house, in my underwear ( as I was getting dressed ) without a key, without clothes. At that moment it was about 8.30 in the morning.
Spanish people, however, are honestly the best sleepers I ever saw. They go to sleep at about 22.00 and sleep till 14.30. Just imagine, us two sitting there for 6 hours, with nothing to do. We litterally tried everything. We tried to get in through our window, tried to get the door open with a little thin file,... But nothing worked. When those cinderella-sleepers got up, they took their time to take a shower, after which they called the landlord, who brought a sparekey at about 16.30. I can assure you, you don't have the smallest clue, which rubbish you go and talk about when you're locked up for 8 hours with nothing to do, I wish they had filmed that, hilarious! ( but nevertheless fairly frustrating )
As I mentioned earlier on in my little blog called " Oxford ", "South Park" is one of the most amazing public parks I ever saw. We went there a couple of times this time as well. It was about a 15 minute walk from our house, so that's quite o.k. . As usual at this time of year, the park was completely empty so we had it all to ourselves. We frisbeed for an hour or so, after which we started to write our very own world conquering song ( or at least that was our intention ). I brought my guitar so we sat down on a little bench in the very middle of the park with nothing but green and an amazing view on the city centre. The song is still in progress but if, one day, you'll hear a song called " Oxford city ", think about me for a while, will you.
There are still so many things that are and will always be left unsaid about our little trips to Oxford, but still I'd like to conclude by saying that it was, once again, an amazing week off. These journeys make you think about the most banal things, help you to cope with "failure" and let you enjoy everything beautiful in this world of ours. If you, yourself would decide to make your own trip to the U.K. one day, visit Oxford, you won't be sorry.
Saturday, 26 January 2008
Gluttony : " That little devil inside every one of us "
" Gluttony is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste" . That is how Wikipedia describes one of the most common deadly sins of our contemporary society. Gluttony or greed seems to be a common term in our modern consumer society. The population during these times of consumerism always seems to want to possess more. But is this persistent desire for possession an ordinary urge for wealth or rather a pathological hunger for possession?
It is striking how sometimes people do not take into account other people and how they are not ashamed of anything. A crystal-clear example of this nonchalance is hotel buffets. Everybody knows how these work, people queue for a while and can take as much food as their plates can handle. Most of the time their plates are still half full when you see those same people returning to the buffet to fetch themselves a new, fresh plate to try new things or a dessert. The food that is still on the dinner plate when the customer leaves the restaurant will be thrown away. This kind of wastage is a perfect example of greed or gluttony. People want everything while, in fact, they should make choices.
I should however mention that the consumers are not the only ones to blame. Supermarkets and small shops adapt well to the consumer's gluttony. These institutions often make very tempting offers towards potential buyers, using all kinds of marketing techniques, like for instance giving them discounts. Very often consumers are not even in need of this product but are just led by their desire to consume.
The most disquieting thing about gluttony is the fact that millions of people are starving and dying from lack of food and possession, while in the more wealthy areas such as the United States of America and Western Europe, people do not take those things seriously and therefore waste what could save lives elsewhere.
On the whole, you could conclude that gluttony is one of the most prevalent deadly sins and one of the most disquieting ones as well. Gluttony or greed is that little devil inside every one of us that convinces us to consume or take more than is actually necessary. We should all be aware of the dangers gluttony can pose to every single one of us.
It is striking how sometimes people do not take into account other people and how they are not ashamed of anything. A crystal-clear example of this nonchalance is hotel buffets. Everybody knows how these work, people queue for a while and can take as much food as their plates can handle. Most of the time their plates are still half full when you see those same people returning to the buffet to fetch themselves a new, fresh plate to try new things or a dessert. The food that is still on the dinner plate when the customer leaves the restaurant will be thrown away. This kind of wastage is a perfect example of greed or gluttony. People want everything while, in fact, they should make choices.
I should however mention that the consumers are not the only ones to blame. Supermarkets and small shops adapt well to the consumer's gluttony. These institutions often make very tempting offers towards potential buyers, using all kinds of marketing techniques, like for instance giving them discounts. Very often consumers are not even in need of this product but are just led by their desire to consume.
The most disquieting thing about gluttony is the fact that millions of people are starving and dying from lack of food and possession, while in the more wealthy areas such as the United States of America and Western Europe, people do not take those things seriously and therefore waste what could save lives elsewhere.
On the whole, you could conclude that gluttony is one of the most prevalent deadly sins and one of the most disquieting ones as well. Gluttony or greed is that little devil inside every one of us that convinces us to consume or take more than is actually necessary. We should all be aware of the dangers gluttony can pose to every single one of us.
Monday, 7 January 2008
How I'd love to fly away
Legend has it that these student-years are and always will be the best of your life. I am not going to deny the fact that it might just be that way, but still... Yeah you guessed it right, it's that time of year again. The strangest thing about these times of examinations is that I am honestly really fond of and moreover really interested in what I am to study but still it is so hard to remain motivated.
It's during these times that I would just like to fly away, run away, ride away, drive away, doesn't matter how, doesn't matter where to, just far, far away. In our contemporary society, people are just too afraid to be impulsive. Impulsivity has vanished, it just isn't ethically accepted if someone does something that he/she hasn't planned way in advance. Oh, I just hate this lame unadventurous mentality. When it comes to impulsivity our ancestors were way better off than we are right now. They didn't think about these kind of things, they just did it.
So, let's put on our Nike-shoes and let us" just do it ", no more worries, no more obligations.
It's during these times that I would just like to fly away, run away, ride away, drive away, doesn't matter how, doesn't matter where to, just far, far away. In our contemporary society, people are just too afraid to be impulsive. Impulsivity has vanished, it just isn't ethically accepted if someone does something that he/she hasn't planned way in advance. Oh, I just hate this lame unadventurous mentality. When it comes to impulsivity our ancestors were way better off than we are right now. They didn't think about these kind of things, they just did it.
So, let's put on our Nike-shoes and let us" just do it ", no more worries, no more obligations.
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Oxford.
Last summer, me and a friend of mine visited Oxford, a picturesque city in the South-East of England. It is not that hard to get there for us. We took "the Eurostar" in Brussels, then it took us 1 hour and 51 minutes to get to London, after which we took the train to Oxford which lasted for about 50 minutes. We spent the first day in London during which we did some quick sightseeing and at about 18.30 local time we left for Oxford. When we finally arrived we only had to walk 5 minutes untill we reached our youth hostel, called Backpackers.
The first day we got up really early and explored the city centre. We were immediately stunned by the beauty of the city centre. It has got this old and cosy image mixed with a pinch of new commercial refreshment. In the afternoon we kind of followed a map of the city that we received when we arrived at our hostel. It led us to the most amazing places.
Oxford is mainly known for its college- and universitylife and that is well noticeable. Christ church university is one of the most dominating buildings of the city and is accompanied by an amazing meadow. You can honestly wander around there for hours just looking around and enjoying the view. A path has been built around Christ church university on which you can walk at least 3 miles before you're back where you started.
Also worth a visit is the blackwells bookshop in Broadstreet, not so far from the University buildings. A picturesque little shop in the middle of town that is known all over the world. Absolutely worth a visit!
Albeit the fact that Oxford is mainly known for its "urbanism" it has some amazing nature domains as well. We visited the botanic gardens and South park ( which is kind of a pun, I know ). The botanic gardens are a part of the Oxford University and contain an enormous diversity of plants. It was almost as if we were walking through every climat all over the world and meeting all different kinds of flora. Amazing!
South park on the other hand is situated on Headington hill in Headington, a beautiful, more down to earth part of Oxford. South Park honestly is the biggest park I ever saw. When we entered it there was no one else in the entire park. Just imagine a huge park, grass greener than Old Trafford and no one there. It was just so peacefully quiet and perfect to restore your inner peace ( if that was necessary in the first place of course ).
I must admit that it wasn't all sightseeing that we did. As the night fell we put on our naughty shoes and entered the Oxford nightlife. And I must give it to you, when it comes to partying, Oxford lives up to its reputation of being one of the best Student-cities all over the world ! We were absolutely flabbergasted by the number of fancy and chic night clubs ( The bridge, park end, ocean and collins, ... ). And I know what you're all thinking: " but England is so expensive". Yeah it absolutely is expensive but that was the good part, because there are so many students they treat people with cheap drinks and give discounts on entrance fees. Believe me when I tell you, Oxford nightlife is by far the best I ever experienced.
On the whole I could conclude that visiting Oxford was a great experience. It was and always will be one of the best holidays of my life. Moreover some people we met over there bought a house in the city centre and invited us to come and visit them this february which we will do of course.
Can't wait to see you there !
Everything's so banal
I think, but I'm not certain. I want to but I just can't find a way. I often think about those things I don't know. Moreover I could even put it like this and say that there are very few absolute certainties in our lives. It honestly tortures me to know that we in fact know nothing at all. It's like Belgian poet Frederik Van Eeden once said: " Nothing is absolutely certain and even that is doubtful ". When you think about it, we just live our lives without asking questions, without even wondering if there might be an other option. Do we even get a choice?
First blog
Dear fellow bloggers,
I will be using this blogspot to express my opinions on everything I experience. For me, writing about our contemporary society and about very ordinary things in special is something I do very often. I hereby hope that you will give me some feedback about what you think of my ideas, points of view, etc.
kind regards,
Koen
I will be using this blogspot to express my opinions on everything I experience. For me, writing about our contemporary society and about very ordinary things in special is something I do very often. I hereby hope that you will give me some feedback about what you think of my ideas, points of view, etc.
kind regards,
Koen
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