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Archives: July 2005

Civil war coming up?

Gaza's Jewish settlements are reopened, a day after the Israeli military imposed a blockade.

Brought to you by BBC News

Yep, surely something is going to happen there soon.
Civil war?

Posted on July 1, 2005
in Living in Israel

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Summer has arrived

For musiclovers amongst you: Amazon gives away for free

-I posted this already once, but heck, you'll enjoy it again.-
Choose this one: The Strokes.

Yihaa.

-Classical Music lovers: the rest of the series of Beethoven is released at BBC-

Posted on July 1, 2005
in Linking context

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Internet in the air...

Md 2314
Why you might want to jump on Austrian Airplanes soon:

The Austrian Airlines Group and the world´s leading provider of high speed internet services on board aircraft - Connexion by Boeing, a business unit of The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) - have signed contracts to install wireless internet access on the Austrian Airlines Group´s long-haul fleet. The agreement was concluded on 16 June 2005 at Le Bourget Airshow. Both Economy and Business Class passengers will be able to use the internet on board Austrian flights.

Wondering how much it will cost ;)

Posted on July 1, 2005
in Linking context, Technical stuff

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Switched my homepage

Today I switched my homepage from AlJazeera to Haaretz.com.
The heat is appearing in Israel, you'll notice.

Wk.0107.1.1
Hilal Majaida, who was injured in a lynch attempt by right-wing extremists at an outpost in Gush Katif this week. Surprising levels of violence. AP

Posted on July 1, 2005
in Living in Israel

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The other side of the story

For me, by now, it is obvious to see the other side of the story as well.

When we say 'pull out of Gaza', we say 'People leaving their homes'

In Europe, it is easy to say 'Well, they have to go, it is obvious they are wrong', but we forget to see the human story behind it.

How would it be to leave a house, a home?

Posted on July 1, 2005
in Living in Israel

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Base is pretty basic when it comes to customer support.

I have an ongoing battle with all telecom companies..
When going to Israel, I switched from Proxifun -monthly payment- to Pay and Go -preloaded card-.
So far so good.

When coming back, wanted to switch back.
Well...
Not possible, they said. You have to sign for 2 years or pay 37 euro.
After being a loyal client to Proximus for 5 years that was about it...
37 euro! for STAYING a client. Or 2 years contract in which I couldn't change back to prepaid card -if I would go abroad again, this means I can keep on paying the monthly payment without calling...-

More over ALL formulas raised in price, and they raised a lot!

So, after checking some formulas and some friends, the best thing to do was changing to Base.

Man, that was a hassle too.
First of all, they didn't accept an international passport to get me my formula, they needed an identity card -which I didn't have since they stole everything in Israel, and it took like 2 months to get a new one-
But I really needed the phone, so my grandfather took the formula.

So far so good....

Until the moment I got an invoice of 95 euro! Excuse me... Which rates are you charging me? I nearly didn't call at all.
This one got solved, I don't know how, but probably mainly by having a phone and not daring to call with it. And having Skype, and a landline which is almost for free these days.

Of course I wanted to change the formula on my name. -We are talking January 2005, today we are July, and I am happy to announce that TODAY Base announced I FINALLY got things on my name-

Inbetween: several phonecalls to the helpdesk, hours of waiting to get an operator -how operators do they have? 3? And it gets worse when you are a new client: waiting lasts over 12 minutes to a paying number-, almost screaming, crying, screaming -in that order-, nothing fixed, demotivated so forgot about it, a lost simcard and as a result NO phone for 5 days with no real explanation at all.

But hey, they are the cheapest ;)

Today, my friends, everything should be OK.
(The question is: for how long.)

-You wonder why I didn't take Mobistar -our third operator-? Heck, how many people HAVE Mobistar?? 100? 101? ;)-

Posted on July 2, 2005
in Living in Belgium

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New TypePad 1.6 is out.

-Increased bandwidth limits (we have DOUBLED hosting and bandwidth)
-New instant message integration
-Comment filtering and approval
-TypeKey support in TypePad
-Your readers can now follow the discussions by receiving an email when there is a new comment
-Comment notification email improved
-15 new design themes
-custom CSS without having to go to advanced templates
-enhanced design area
-automatic publishing
-new preferences page
-Amazon in France and Canada support for adding books
and more...

Learn more, and we're currently rebuilding the blogs, you can check the TypePad status page. This new version is made available simultaneously in all languages.


Well, good to see they have a AIM/Yahoo Status added, which, we at PhotoBlog had ages ago ;)
Checking the design themes now, hopefully they did something with photoblogs...
So Michel, hopefully you'll get happier about their uptime/speed ;)

Posted on July 2, 2005
in Technical stuff

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Rio in a different daylight

I heard from several sources that Brazil is heck of a country and worth a visit.
I believe them. And I really want to go.
But today I stumbled on this series of pictures of a cell block in Rio.

Must be the other side of the story.

(Pictures by VIIPhoto.)

Posted on July 2, 2005
in Linking context

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Abbas invites militant groups into government: bad idea?

GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has
invited militant factions, including the Islamic group Hamas,
to join his government .

Brought to you by Reuters: Top News

Of course this idea is rejected by Israel and even U.S.A, but on the other hand, maybe it is not such a bad idea.
Or is it?

The situation in Israel is so complicated and hard to understand, let be, deal with it.
Taking the opposition into the government might lead them to a realistic view upon things. Otherwise it will just stay opposition, which, in that sense, opposes to everything...

Posted on July 2, 2005
in Living in Israel

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Sunlight Table

Sunlighttable

Beautiful... Design.

Posted on July 2, 2005
in Design

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Surprise! Dyke.

"You scored as The Surprise! Dyke.


Despite the dead giveaways, such as the tattoos and love of the L Word, people still seem to think that you're straight. "

Test hinted by music for monsters.
So Ana, what did you score like?? ;)

Posted on July 2, 2005
in Limit of my knowledge

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Cherrydays

Img 55101

In heaven there have to be my grandfathers cherry trees.

If not, I don't want to go...

Posted on July 3, 2005
in Living in Belgium

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Gizmo calling...

Gizmo-App

Gizmo is a new SIPPhone. It is free and has Gizmo IN and Out, but can it compete Skype -which is actually not the SIP protocol-

Pros: other Voip networks can reach you.
And recording of your conversation.
+free voicemail.

Cons: well, everybody has Skype by now...

Posted on July 4, 2005
in Technical stuff

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Bad weather

From a sunny Sunday afternoon towards a rain-inferno.
Roads are blank now.
Just a reminder that this still in Belgium...

-Interesting to know: last night the amount of rain that falls down in approx 1,5 months, fell down within 6 hours.
Well... -

Posted on July 4, 2005
in Living in Belgium

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On Studio Brussel

Got this message today:
"Peter Van de Veire on Studio Brussel was talking about digital tampons and referred to your site. Without source mentioning. It seems a hot subject"
-Bart-

Hi Peter! ;)

Posted on July 6, 2005
in Linking context

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Claudio visiting Belgium

2 days ago Claudio called 'Hi Ine, I am flying into Brussels tomorrow, I'll leave after tomorrow.'

What would you do?

Me, I took a day off, offered him a place for the night and went one day of talking, eating and shopping with Clau, who is a good friend from Israel.
And men, we had a blast.

His remarkable remarks:
-Wow, it is so f* clean here -while he was apologizing for the f* word-
-Wow, this is soooo cheap. -strange remark since prices raised with 25% due to the rate of the dollar- -on items not on sale...-
-I have never seen a clean trash pick up truck, I never saw clean trash pick up truck guys!
-Why aren't there people on the street at night -while driving from Brussels towards home, passing little villages.

Hope you enjoyed it Clau. ;)

Posted on July 6, 2005
in Living in Belgium

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VRT starts podcast

Great initiative BUT: 1 download of 'De Afrekening': 81.3 mb.
Thank you very much...

Like this, their test will be pretty unsuccessful due to unexpected bandwidth usage.
Hey guys, there must be a better way to do this...

Posted on July 6, 2005
in Linking context, Technical stuff

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I want...

Home View Gallery

DAA is T-shirt/jersey based fashion line sold in fashion, concept and music shops. The items are designed by famous and emerging fashion designers, DJ’s, musicians, photographers, sports celebs, street artists...

Accessories and lifestyle articles such as bracelets with a text, compilation cd’s and specially designed condom wrappers are part of the next stage of the plan.

50% of the netto proceeds of the sales of the t-shirts will go to the Institute for Tropical Medicine in Antwerp/Belgium to help fund their grundbreaking aids research.

I want.

-oh and they have a blog-

Posted on July 6, 2005
in Design

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Which digital camera to buy?

Article Block159
Recently I get a number of people asking about which camera would be their best buy ( ;) )

So I decided to do a post on it.
As I used to say to people at Fnac:
There is no 'best' camera in general. There are a lot of good cameras and you have to find the one that fits your needs.
So first make a list of your needs.

Secondly I put 2 things as most important on my list:
speed of the camera and the color quality.
Speed of the camera is not really its shutter speed -though this is sometimes interesting- but rather the reaction speed of the camera.
In general the small cameras are pretty slow.
But also in general you want to capture the right moment and you don't to miss it because of a slow camera.
Thus rather opt to spend 100$ more than be very disappointed afterwards.
I know a lot of people that switched to digital, bought a rather expensive camera and are very disappointed on this matter.
The rule is -unfortunately- the more expensive your camera, the faster it will be. Test this in the shop!
-Recent models got a lot better btw-
On color: well to me it is all about capturing a picture, and all the fuzz later on... I don't really like it. I don't mind playing around with PhotoShop, but to change a 100 pics? No thanks.
Check out the camera you want to buy online, and check the color tests. A perfect site is dpreview.com.

Other important rule: don't get fooled by the megapixels.
6megapixel or 8megapixel is approx the same.
The megapixel is only interesting if you want enlargements.
For 10/15 cm you need a 2 million megapixel camera. For A4 you need 4 to 5 million megapixes.
How many people enlarge bigger than this?
Not many, I can tell you.
So if you don't need it that often, don't buy the very expensive camera.

Choose for digital reflex or not?
I'd say yes, because it has many advantages: it is good quality, it is fast -faster than the small cameras- and you can changes lenses.
But it is heavy.
An average tourist wants an easy camera.
So don't fool yourself with the nice big camera, if it will become a camera like you once bought that nice VHS - video cam for filming the kids. I bet it is lying in the highest shelf of your closet.
If you are more than an average amateur, and you like taking pictures and you want to get better in it: definitely go for the reflex.

Again: wonder what you need, and check it out profoundly.
Don't let the marketing people fool you ;)

If you have more questions: feel free to ask.

Posted on July 6, 2005
in Technical stuff

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Orange in Israel

"Orange, orange everywhere, nor any drop to drink


You have to hand it to the settlers for pure determination. I was stopped outside my local supermarket last night by a woman who asked me if I wanted to drink a glass of carrot juice in support of
Gush Katif.

I hate carrots (and carrot juice) at the best of times. Being coerced into drinking it for a political cause was something I never thought I would have to undergo.

I should be glad the settlers chose orange and not yellow, because the only thing I hate more than carrots is pineapple. "

From Haaretz Blog

Posted on July 7, 2005
in Living in Israel

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Al Qaeda attacks London?

Explosions force the entire London Underground network to be closed down.

Update: amazingly there are only 2 37 deaths up till now, and there is no panic in the streets. -Compared to what happened in NY it is so different-
Blair is leaving the G8 summit.

Brought to you by BBC News

Posted on July 7, 2005
in Linking context

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Grumblgrraargh...

Grumbl

Whole day it is working fine... Till now.
Grumblgrraargh...

Posted on July 7, 2005
in Technical stuff

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Terror

Terror

Today I saw this advertisement on an Israeli site, and was somehow staring at it.
How can a soldier be a victim of terror, I wondered?
Soldiers fight a war, rather than be a victim of terror.
Being a soldier is a risk.

Anyhow, I started to do some 'quick' research on the matter. On the use of the word terror and on the word itself.
And after one google I found some quite interesting sites.

What is Terrorism?

Terrorism is not new, and even though it has been used since the beginning of recorded history it can be relatively hard to define. Terrorism has been described variously as both a tactic and strategy; a crime and a holy duty; a justified reaction to oppression and an inexcusable abomination. Obviously, a lot depends on whose point of view is being represented. Terrorism has often been an effective tactic for the weaker side in a conflict. As an asymmetric form of conflict, it confers coercive power with many of the advantages of military force at a fraction of the cost. Due to the secretive nature and small size of terrorist organizations, they often offer opponents no clear organization to defend against or to deter.

That is why preemption is now so important. In some cases, terrorism has been a means to carry on a conflict without the adversary realizing the nature of the threat, mistaking terrorism for criminal activity. Because of these characteristics, terrorism has become increasingly common among those pursuing extreme goals throughout the world. But despite its popularity, terrorism can be a nebulous concept. Even within the U.S. Government, agencies responsible for different functions in our current fight against terrorism use different definitions.

The site has a lot of information on the word.

Guerilla warfare and insurgencies are often assumed to be synonymous with terrorism. One reason for this is that insurgencies and terrorism often have similar goals. However, if we examine insurgency and guerilla warfare, specific differences emerge.

A key difference is that an insurgency is a movement - a political effort with a specific aim. This sets it apart from both guerilla warfare and terrorism, as they are both methods available to pursue the goals of the political movement.

Another difference is the intent of the component activities and operations of insurgencies versus terrorism. There is nothing inherent in either insurgency or guerilla warfare that requires the use of terror.

Still pretty confusing...

The main reason why I wanted to know all this, is because of the use of the word.
I started googling before noon, and thus before knowing about London blasts, kind of strange that the afternoon was filled with the word terror in the radio. In each sentence on the matter the word was used. Over-used I dare to say.

BBC World took a decision not to use the word anymore. Which might sound pretty strange, but then again.

Following in the footsteps of Reuters, the BBC World Service has decided to not call the events of September 11 "terrorism," a Guardian story on a media conference reported on Thursday.

The BBC’s Deputy Director of News maintained: "However appalling and disgusting it was, there will nevertheless be a constituency of your listeners who don't regard it as terrorism. Describing it as such could downgrade your status as an impartial and independent broadcaster."

Mark Damazer, the BBC's deputy director of news, said the service would lose its reputation for impartiality around the world if it were seen to use such a subjective term.

I believe the word is used in a political way these days, maybe even misused, and thus I do understand why some channels don't want to use it anymore.

I think Terrorism Research points out in one of its definitions that terrorism is about Media Exploitation, and heck, they are pretty well succeeding in it these days..

Coming back to the initial picture: It can be regarded as terrorism, but to me, as it shows in the picture, I still see it as a fight rather than a terrorist attack. Both have guns, both shoot and both get hurt.
What happened this afternoon on the other hand is true terror to me. It can merely be called a fight for freedom. It is a cruel act hurting the people that don't have anything to do with it at all.
Same thing with busses that explode in Israel: in its pure definition it can be called a terroristic attack.

Which points out my differentiation between people that fight with guns against an army, and people that commit crimes against civilians.
In no way you can use the same definition, I think.

But what do you think?

More links

Posted on July 7, 2005
in Limit of my knowledge

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Prophetic?

I remember a right-winged Israeli saying to me: You wait, it will all come to you. He was talking about bombings and other 'terroristic' actions.

Today I read in our newspaper: 600 cameras and 300 guards watch the metro in Brussels. In busses, people are only allowed to enter in the front.

I guess the situation as lived in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem is coming closer, and the main reason is fear.

If there is one thing I learned in Israel, it is not to fear fear. -Oh, sure I have my limits too-
Taking so called dangerous busses, eating at places without a guard, it is something you just do, because you refuse to give in. You wont let the fear win.
Because once you do, you stop living...

The first months I was very careful, but then you discover life just goes on. It just does.
Fortunately.

-The idea of having a situation where a guard checks your handbag, or has you open your trunk, where a guard guards you in your favorite cafe is a true limitation of your freedom.
Many people will not agree on this idea, because 'you still can do what you want'
But actually you can not without having the idea of 'maybe something will happen'
I can assure you, it limits you.
But as in everything: it becomes normal. I don't think about it anymore when being in Tel Aviv. It is the way it is.-

Posted on July 8, 2005
in Limit of my knowledge

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JussPress.com

I like to have my pics on 'my hd' or 'my host' rather then spread everything around on different servers.
But regarding video, it is somehow different: video EATS bandwidth.
In the past I mentioned some useful sites, but I guess this one is the nicest in lay out and usability: it appears straight in your blog, no link to another popup or whatsoever.
And no more consuming bandwidth ;)

Thanks D&tC for the tip.

Posted on July 9, 2005
in Technical stuff

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Free SkypeOut Minutes Promotion

freeskypeoutday_illustration.png

Skype has announced "Free SkypeOut days as a new promotion. Free SkypeOutMinutes...

Brought to you by Skype Journal

Posted on July 9, 2005
in Linking context

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Israel's Cabinet Calls for Swift Completion of Jerusalem Barrier

JERUSALEM, July 10 - Israel's separation barrier in Jerusalem will cut off 55,000 Palestinian residents from the rest of the city, Israeli officials acknowledged today. Palestinians responded sharply, saying they will face daily complications in reaching jobs, schools and hospitals.

Brought to you by NYT > International

Wonder what this will give..
Considering the barrier will become somehow the new border, those 55000 will become what? Israeli? ;)

Posted on July 10, 2005
in Living in Israel

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Falling.

Trestle1

Philosopher Martin Heideggar described human existence as a process of perpetual falling, and it is the responsibility of each individual to catch ourselves from our own uncertainty.

Wonderful pictures.

Posted on July 12, 2005
in Linking context

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Finally vacation.

Yihaa.

Actually leaving with 'ugly Geert' and others to Koln, where we'll do an interview. -More on that one later-
Will be visiting Isa and see some splendid pics.

Might check out a flash for my camera, and depending on the prices, also a lens. :)
(Might leave it there too ;) -here, I have tax refund, so it needs to be very interesting... Tips from you guys is always welcome, like which shop to visit in Koln.-)

Posted on July 13, 2005
in Living in Belgium

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Motorbike for sale

Two friends of mine decided to make a baby and thus selling the motorcycle. -Hey, who needs gay adoption? ;) -
Which I think is stupid: they bought it only one year ago brand new.

Rechtsaanzicht

The specifics:

Honda CBF 600 SA4
All-rounder
Built 04/2004
Km : 5800
Included: ABS
1st owner, no accidents, selling due to pregnancy, color : grey blue
(excalibur grey)
Under guarantee till 04/2006

They are asking : €5900

On top of it, it is only on sale for one week, then they sell it to the shop where they'll buy a scooter. -Why oh why?-

-It is truly a bargain thinking you buy a brand new bike for second hand price. I can tell you it was cleaned after each ride. Those girls are freaks ;)- (when you google the thing, you'll find much more expensive deals for older similar motorcycles + new price of more then 7000 euro.. so better be fast.)

Buy it here.

If I hadn't had my beauty, I wouldn't have hesitated...

Posted on July 13, 2005
in Linking context

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Polaroid + Pinhole = Pinholaroid

I picked up a Polaroid camera for $1 at a garage sale thinking I could add a pinhole and have a pinholaroid. I didn't find any good online tutorials, and feeling confident after building my digital pinhole camera, I decided to figure it out as I went. Keep reading to learn how to turn a cheap Polaroid camera into a cheap polaroid pinhole camera…


An interesting article.
Brought to you by BE A DESIGN GROUP BLOG

Posted on July 18, 2005
in Linking context

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The kings rock!

Img 5559Small
©Ine D.

There will always be a need to label – categorization is fundamental to our understanding of our world. But if we understand that such categories are dynamic ones, based not on transcendental truths but on the cultural forces of a particular place and time, then perhaps we can acquire the agility and flexibility needed to keep those categories fluid and open to future articulations.
– Mocha Jean Herrup

Took of for some days to Cologne to meet amazing people.
And make loads of pics.

Thanks Mocha/Lance, Woody, Kiki, Tom, Ines, and all the others for the fine days we had!
Thanks Isa for the great stay!

I'll hope to post more pics in the near future.

Posted on July 18, 2005
in Living in Belgium

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Bettina Rheims Retroperspective

Hbcsadjaaxm Pxgen R 160Xa Worthwhile seeing...
Some images of Bettina Rheims might have shocked the world, yet there is more to see than only shocking images.
Still in Dusseldorf for a while.

Posted on July 18, 2005
in Linking context

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Wifi in Tel Aviv

Seems my friends are working really hard over there.
Wifi rules! And Methuka rocks.

Posted on July 18, 2005
in Projects - SnowBlog.net

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The Common Desk

How to decorate your desk best...
Quicktime and 40min long! But really fun and interesting.

Thanks Veerle

Posted on July 19, 2005
in Linking context

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Only some days back and leaving again...

Off to Amsterdam for few days...

Yesterday we visited Gentse Feesten, and frankly speaking, I was happy I didn't need to take any pics there.
Monza sucked. (their site is certainly better than their performance.)
We missed Hormonia and Daan (we missed all the things we wanted to see actually. All places were FULL...)
Eddy Wally turned out fun, and I am sure the dragkings in Belgium will integrate him in their act ;)

Mochito's, campari orange, atmosphere, music and more mochito's...
I just love vacation ;)

Posted on July 20, 2005
in Living in Belgium

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Flattering...

When visiting the FOAM in Amsterdam, I opened a magazine* and saw one of my pics.
Yep, I grew few inches. ;)

Img 6062

(*Article: in FocusMagazine, featuring 10 contemporary Belgian photographers)

Posted on July 24, 2005
in Limit of my knowledge

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Tips for Amsterdam

300 050 B-Service
©Droogdesign

Img 6066

(Wagamama) 

 

FOAM
Droogdesign
Stedelijk Museum
Wagamama

Posted on July 24, 2005
in Design

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Egypt...

Map5

I am planning to go to Israel soon.
-Well nothing is confirmed yet.-
For vacation.
And actually we were planning to go to Sinai too.
But I certainly remember saying to Tamar, that I thought it was NOT a good idea to go during/while/right after the disengagement of Gazastrip.

What happened some days ago was a confirmation of those thoughts.

Corrections for news channels: Sinai is a popular resort for Israeli's but Sharm El Sjeik is NOT. (and the victims list proves this theory)
Israeli's come as far as Dahab -from Taba that is-
Europeans come from Sharm El Sjeik as far as Dahab.
And only those who know the right spots will go further.

We certainly know some of these spots ;) yet Sinai is out of the question now.
We won't go.
Me, I would, but some Israeli friends of mine will not take that risk.

683964

Some people ask why Sinai is a target.
Obviously this area is the area of 'sinners': naked women and all kinds of recreation is not what muslims see as 'devote'.
Sinai is often regarded as the sinners place, and all Egyptians taking profit of this area/living there/having a hostel or alike are sinners too.

I asked my mom if she would go today if she had the chance.
Her answer: sure. If I would think of not going, I should not go anywhere: London, Madrid, Istanbul. No place is safe anymore.
My grandmother, on the other hand, is considering canceling her trip to Barcelona.

Posted on July 24, 2005
in Limit of my knowledge

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Moving

I am moving to Ghent again.

Moving means: packing boxes and checking what can be thrown away...
The last part is the part my mom loves, since it cleans the attic little by little and year by year.

This year I threw a lot. -I guess after being away 2 years, one changes in its habits, and I certainly didn't need those schoolbooks from high school any more...-

8 boxes were reduced to 2.
What remained? A bunch of memories, most of them old letters, and postcards, some pictures, and little stuff one cannot throw away. Like the flute of the youth movement, or a pin from a first trip. Or a film ticket of a good movie.
And old teddy bear -which oddly enough I would throw but my mom doesn't allow me to-

If you had to clean up, which thing would you certainly keep?

Posted on July 27, 2005
in Living in Belgium

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Dragkings

I told you we were working on an article on dragkingdom.
Here a preview on some pics.

For info: A drag king is a performer who makes masculinity into his or her act.

Drag kings dress in men’s clothes and apply facial hair. Moustaches, sideburns, beards and even chest hair. They bind their breasts and pack. Sometimes they parody, sometimes they emulate, but they always have fun.
Drag kings reclaim masculinity. Their message is that it is ok for everyone to be masculine, also women.
“I’m not saying I want to be a man. I’m saying I’m already what it takes to be a man. I am masculine.” states Lance, drag king with The Austin Gender Conspiracy, a drag king troupe from Texas, USA.

Drag kings revolt to society’s strict and rigid categories of male and female.
In our daily life a woman with facial hair is regarded as unacceptable, exactly because she breaks down stereotypes. Drag Kings are showing that women can also be sexy men. They experience gender as fluid: a mix of masculinity and femininity unrelated to biological gender.

Text by Britt Mesdagh

Posted on July 27, 2005
in Projects

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Flights....

How comes Silvi -Tamar's travel agent, and well, I adopted her as mine by now...- finds flights from Brussels-Tel Aviv-Brussels for 245 euro, while my travel agents (Connections, Airstop and others) cannot get these cheap tickets????

Hey you guys, I might fly high very soon ;)

Posted on July 27, 2005
in Living in Belgium

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Looking for a graphic designer.

As the sidebar of this site tells, I support Karama in Palestine.

Unemployment in this area is above 80% and thus all kinds of fair trade are interesting.

Some of my friends over there are starting a fair trade shop, and I am kind of helping them out a little bit.
We want to make T-shirts, with a cool design.

The manufacturing of the T-shirts is not a problem.
The design on the other hand is hard to make, since we, Europeans are rather keen on cool things. ;)

So I am asking the designers amongst you to contact me, if you want to see your design on a T-shirt.

We are looking for:
cool designs
one colored, like stencils, or 2 colored
arabic positive words -like hope, think, etc- with english translation. integrated in the design.

If you are interested, contact me and I'll send more details.

Reward: a free T-shirt -when we use your design- and the knowledge that you actually helped people in a structural way rather than sending some money to charity.

Posted on July 28, 2005
in Linking context, Living in Belgium

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Did you know...?

...a mac(k)intosh is a raincoat?

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
mac \mac\ n.
Shortened form of mackintosh, a waterproof raincoat made of
rubberized fabric.
Syn: mackintosh,
macintosh, mac, mack.

And Fogg travelled around the world in 80 days with as luggage

'Only a carpetbag,' he had instructed his servant Passepartout, 'in it two woollen shirts and three pairs of stockings . . . my mackintosh and travelling cloak, also stout shoes, although we shall walk but little or not at all.'

Posted on July 28, 2005
in Apple

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SHAME on the Standaard

Today De Standaard -a Belgian quality-paper- disappointed me.
And I kind of think they disappoint many other photographers.

They announce a new thing 'Mail us your news picture' in which they say (and I quote)
'Are you witnessing a news fact. Did you picture it? Then send it to us, and we might publish it.' to anyone who wants to send their picture.

With the new media, and fast internet, and much better amateur photographers, this development is not unexpected. (It is a pity for professional photographers though, it gets harder and harder to make money from photography.)

BUT...
When you read the rules:
You have to agree on a free publication.
In other words: they don't pay you.

It is a disgrace!
Taking the work from professional photographers is one thing, but getting it for free is another.

If you have a good picture of something, don't send it to them, send it to a news agency, and you will be paid for the use of your pictures.
That's only fair!

Posted on July 29, 2005
in Limit of my knowledge

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Moved part 2

Well, finally things are arranged.
-Still some minor stuff to do but heck, it is livable.-

So last night I left home, with the last bags, my computer, and the whole series of 24. -Thanks Guido for that-

After arriving and fixing everything, I went for a long bike ride in the city, and more over, in my new neighborhood.
Where to rent DVD's, where to find a nice cheap restaurant, etc, etc.
At Ghent South, I know my way. Here, near the Coupure, I am new.
And it has to be said: many places closed, moved or changed.

I cycled for over 1 hour and didn't find ONE 'frietkot' open. -Must be vacation for them after the Gentse Feesten.
My favorite shoarma place -De Pallieter, near Vrijdagsmarkt- was closed as well.

So for those who know this area well, please give me some good tips: cheap restaurants -except for Sleepstraat and Thai near Zuid-
and other useful info.

In case there is nothing to do in Ghent: I have wifi and 24, so I should survive for a while ;)

Posted on July 31, 2005
in Living in Belgium

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Missing some extra closets...

Maybe I should fix it this way...

800 013 Chest Of Drawers

©DroogDesign

Posted on July 31, 2005
in Linking context

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PostModern Pets

Plein Main 250

Why not buy your dog a post modern piece of furniture, you'd ask...
Well, first I have no dog -luckily- and second, my couch now costs only 170 euro. You don't want to know what this piece costs...

But PostModern Pets have other, more useful gadgets.

Fishpod Main 250

Might buy this bowl to change the awful aquarium the fish of house owns now...

Posted on July 31, 2005
in Linking context

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Da Vinci in cinema

The Da Vinci Code is being filmed these days.

I don't like to see films of books, because they miss so many details the book does have inside, and the image of your characters turn out differently on screen...

But in this one Audrey Tautou is playing...

She is sooooo cute.
So might rent the dvd afterwards...

Posted on July 31, 2005
in Linking context

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Stijn > Things to do when in Bejing
Stijn > Youtube and influence
Lara > Eurosong 2007
CraHan > Youtube and influence
Elke > The change of media and use in politics
Elke > The change of media and use in politics
Bart > The tables are ready
sara > Buying shoes...

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