The biggest problem confronting the world today is "the illusion that our differences matter more than our common humanity."
Bill Clinton
NBC's "Meet the Press.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
This is your captain screaming ...
I don't like flying.
I had imagined that I was the queen of the 'What if ...' scenario.
Lisa posted a new and terrifying 'what if'; one that I had never considered.
Thank you Lisa, I have at least 23 hours flying time when I fly back to New Zealand ... the story is titled This is your captain screaming .
Enjoy.
I had imagined that I was the queen of the 'What if ...' scenario.
Lisa posted a new and terrifying 'what if'; one that I had never considered.
Thank you Lisa, I have at least 23 hours flying time when I fly back to New Zealand ... the story is titled This is your captain screaming .
Enjoy.
Mark just put me onto this song he'd posted over on his blog.
It's 'Five for Fighting'
the song: '100 Years'
and it's from their album: 'The Battle for Everything'.
International fireworks festival, Deurne
The district of Deurne and Hendrickx & Lefeber fireworks company got together and organised an international fireworks competition in Rivierenhof Park this month and we were invited along to the associated receptions, with last night being the grand finale.
The international fireworks competition began on Spetember 8th, with the Belgians displaying their pyrotechnic talents as part of the Liberation Day festivities. We were lucky enough to be at that reception and thought those fireworks good but last night's display by the English was stunning and I'm not a huge fan of fireworks.
I almost died laughing as the British National Anthem played, imaginging the Flemish Nationalists and Extreme Right neo nazis foaming at the mouth, so perhaps that added to my enjoyment of the night ... but the fireworks won strong applause in each song break.
A professional jury had been brought in to evaluate the fireworks each week and last night's winners took away an Antwerpen Trophy - that would be a trophy in the shape of an 'A', with diamonds attached.
The results were announced, with England taking first for technical expertise however it was the Austrian display that had everyone talking ... yes, that would be the one that we missed. The Austrians took out first overall and won the best music award.
Not a bad way to spend a Saturday evening ...
The international fireworks competition began on Spetember 8th, with the Belgians displaying their pyrotechnic talents as part of the Liberation Day festivities. We were lucky enough to be at that reception and thought those fireworks good but last night's display by the English was stunning and I'm not a huge fan of fireworks.
I almost died laughing as the British National Anthem played, imaginging the Flemish Nationalists and Extreme Right neo nazis foaming at the mouth, so perhaps that added to my enjoyment of the night ... but the fireworks won strong applause in each song break.
A professional jury had been brought in to evaluate the fireworks each week and last night's winners took away an Antwerpen Trophy - that would be a trophy in the shape of an 'A', with diamonds attached.
The results were announced, with England taking first for technical expertise however it was the Austrian display that had everyone talking ... yes, that would be the one that we missed. The Austrians took out first overall and won the best music award.
Not a bad way to spend a Saturday evening ...
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Ik heb haarpijn
Last night I learned an invaluable lesson ...
We were attending an Alderman's Ball here in the city. There was a bar-be-que, alcohol and many interesting people.
How does one dress for a 'ball' here in Antwerpen?
Back home in New Zealand dress would have been very formal but here you go as you please ... jeans through the range to evening wear.
What began as a night out sitting with a few people I'm slowly begin to know as friends turned into a 'we need a few photographs' kind of night and so it was that Gert went home for the camera and I slowly but surely transformed into the woman I become when I take photographs.
It makes me fearless and curious and so very very happy.
I spent some time in conversation with a political news programme director who was there filming the Alderman during this final 2 week run up to the October district, city and province elections. He has 2 other cameramen working on the story - one following the Mayor and the other a city councillor - obviously politicians from 3 different parties
He and I talked a little about media here - television as opposed to newspaper; we talked of a couple of his previous stories and he tried to answer my questions about Belgian society as we compared notes on what I knew from New Zealand and had found over in Turkey.
And I met the son of a man who owned a large company here ... they didn't fear my direct and curious questioning, once again about who Belgians are and what motivates some of the behaviour I still don't quite understand.
It was a good night ... one where I combined all that I love in terms of photography and the casual interview.
However I really should have factored in the red wine at a conscious level because every time I returned to my table from yet another foray out in to the world of photographing and interacting with people ... I would drink another full glass of wine as I looked through the images or talked or simply sat back and marvelled over the way that people are stories and how interesting those stories often are.
One should never drink wine while indulging a passion.
That was my lesson.
Antwerpenaars have some delightful sayings and I used one for my title.
Gert taught me it a while ago and this morning I woke and it was my first thought ... 'ik heb haarpijn' translates as 'I have hair ache'.
Photography gives me this feeling of elation that translated into drinking the wine because it was there, barely conscious of what it was ... never thinking for a moment about morning.
And what a morning ... we left the ball around 4am, still talking, still lucid (I promise I was) and with no hint of what was ahead for me.
10am found Gert gently laughing as he assured me that the pain and the nausea was merely a hangover. I didn't believe him as I lay there preparing for death by some mysterious poisoning, feebly asking if the ambulance might have something for me as it passed by our apartment.
It's been a long day ... 6pm I'm finally feeling something like human again, and maybe I can make it to the firework festival tonight and perhaps it was the alcohol and if so, then it will be a very long time before I drink anything containing that stuff again.
Een kater van hier tot in Tokyo Gert told his friend Freddy, changing the country from Tokyo, which was far too close in terms measuring my hangover ... in English it would have been 'Di has a hangover from here till in Auckland'.
I'm looking forward to orange juice and fireworks tonight ... tot ziens.
We were attending an Alderman's Ball here in the city. There was a bar-be-que, alcohol and many interesting people.
How does one dress for a 'ball' here in Antwerpen?
Back home in New Zealand dress would have been very formal but here you go as you please ... jeans through the range to evening wear.
What began as a night out sitting with a few people I'm slowly begin to know as friends turned into a 'we need a few photographs' kind of night and so it was that Gert went home for the camera and I slowly but surely transformed into the woman I become when I take photographs.
It makes me fearless and curious and so very very happy.
I spent some time in conversation with a political news programme director who was there filming the Alderman during this final 2 week run up to the October district, city and province elections. He has 2 other cameramen working on the story - one following the Mayor and the other a city councillor - obviously politicians from 3 different parties
He and I talked a little about media here - television as opposed to newspaper; we talked of a couple of his previous stories and he tried to answer my questions about Belgian society as we compared notes on what I knew from New Zealand and had found over in Turkey.
And I met the son of a man who owned a large company here ... they didn't fear my direct and curious questioning, once again about who Belgians are and what motivates some of the behaviour I still don't quite understand.
It was a good night ... one where I combined all that I love in terms of photography and the casual interview.
However I really should have factored in the red wine at a conscious level because every time I returned to my table from yet another foray out in to the world of photographing and interacting with people ... I would drink another full glass of wine as I looked through the images or talked or simply sat back and marvelled over the way that people are stories and how interesting those stories often are.One should never drink wine while indulging a passion.
That was my lesson.
Antwerpenaars have some delightful sayings and I used one for my title.
Gert taught me it a while ago and this morning I woke and it was my first thought ... 'ik heb haarpijn' translates as 'I have hair ache'.
Photography gives me this feeling of elation that translated into drinking the wine because it was there, barely conscious of what it was ... never thinking for a moment about morning.
And what a morning ... we left the ball around 4am, still talking, still lucid (I promise I was) and with no hint of what was ahead for me.
10am found Gert gently laughing as he assured me that the pain and the nausea was merely a hangover. I didn't believe him as I lay there preparing for death by some mysterious poisoning, feebly asking if the ambulance might have something for me as it passed by our apartment.
It's been a long day ... 6pm I'm finally feeling something like human again, and maybe I can make it to the firework festival tonight and perhaps it was the alcohol and if so, then it will be a very long time before I drink anything containing that stuff again.
Een kater van hier tot in Tokyo Gert told his friend Freddy, changing the country from Tokyo, which was far too close in terms measuring my hangover ... in English it would have been 'Di has a hangover from here till in Auckland'.
I'm looking forward to orange juice and fireworks tonight ... tot ziens.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Neo-nazis enter state assembly, Germany
Der Spiegel is writing about it ...
While it's common knowledge that the neo-nazis are gaining ground in many countries throughout Europe, the extreme right have now entered the German state assembly, with far-right parties now represented in three of eastern Germany's five state parliaments.
Some of their stated intentions include trying to and repatriate foreigners and a desire that Germany should stop atoning for the Holocaust
Oddly enough, the nazis they model themselves might wince and look at the ground over this news ...
It made me think of an extract I found in The Women Who Wrote the War - where the journalists talk about how they found Germany at the end of World War II.
Sigrid Schultz 'had left a German of prideful Nazis; she returned to find people denying their affiliation, soft-pedaling their allegiance. Even in Nuremberg, once home to the Nazi Party congresses, this was so ...
But there as in all the once important Nazi towns she visited, Schultz heard the same refrain: "We are the little people. We had nothing to say in Germany."
Virtually all the correspondents following the victorious Allied troops encountered the same national denial. "No one is a Nazi. No one ever was."
Martha Gellhorn, travelling with a regiment of the 82nd Airborne, wrote in prose laced with sarcasm. "To see a whole nation passing the buck is not an enlightening spectacle ..."
How times have changed. The extreme right neo nazi is loud, proud and gaining votes.
While it's common knowledge that the neo-nazis are gaining ground in many countries throughout Europe, the extreme right have now entered the German state assembly, with far-right parties now represented in three of eastern Germany's five state parliaments.
Some of their stated intentions include trying to and repatriate foreigners and a desire that Germany should stop atoning for the Holocaust
Oddly enough, the nazis they model themselves might wince and look at the ground over this news ...
It made me think of an extract I found in The Women Who Wrote the War - where the journalists talk about how they found Germany at the end of World War II.
Sigrid Schultz 'had left a German of prideful Nazis; she returned to find people denying their affiliation, soft-pedaling their allegiance. Even in Nuremberg, once home to the Nazi Party congresses, this was so ...
But there as in all the once important Nazi towns she visited, Schultz heard the same refrain: "We are the little people. We had nothing to say in Germany."
Virtually all the correspondents following the victorious Allied troops encountered the same national denial. "No one is a Nazi. No one ever was."
Martha Gellhorn, travelling with a regiment of the 82nd Airborne, wrote in prose laced with sarcasm. "To see a whole nation passing the buck is not an enlightening spectacle ..."
How times have changed. The extreme right neo nazi is loud, proud and gaining votes.
On insincerity and other political attributes
The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.
When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.
In our age there is no such thing as "keeping out of politics." All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia. When the general atmosphere is bad, language must suffer...
But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation even among people who should and do know better. The debased language that I have been discussing is in some ways very convenient.
- George Orwell.
Taken from a site found via Fisking Central .
Andrew Sullivan is listed there as the original Fisk and the above quote makes up his September 22 post.
When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.
In our age there is no such thing as "keeping out of politics." All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia. When the general atmosphere is bad, language must suffer...
But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation even among people who should and do know better. The debased language that I have been discussing is in some ways very convenient.
- George Orwell.
Taken from a site found via Fisking Central .
Andrew Sullivan is listed there as the original Fisk and the above quote makes up his September 22 post.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Kevin Sites, Journalist
Kevin writes, Justice, grace and defiance: What I learned from a pregnant 15-year-old Ugandan girl
An extract : It's only later that I will realize Anne's story has helped me find a solution to a dilemma that I've been struggling with since coming to Africa.
For weeks I have been reporting on the tragedies and misfortunes of people trapped in the consequences of armed conflict in Africa.
Each story is important, I believe, and resonates with the common denominator of our human experience: the desire for a peaceful life and to have enough resources to take care of ourselves and our families.
But I became concerned, especially after reading some of the reader postings, that our reporting efforts* -- while certainly educating people -- could also be overwhelming them.**
"What can I do?"
"How can I help?"
"This story is so horribly sad, I just want to cry."
All valid responses, but they made me wonder if the information we were providing through story after story would eventually sap hope, rather than build it.
Part of the obvious answer for me as a reporter is to try to show the full dimension of these people's lives -- not just their suffering -- but also their silliness, their laughter, their humility, their grace.
And thinking about Anne's story, I also realized that, while it is important to take action, to be a part of the solution, a story is empowering in its own right.
Just by knowing something, being aware, maybe we become better people. Knowledge can help us to build greater empathy for everyone in our lives, not just people in Africa.
Through hearing someone's story, in all its complexities, we gain the potential to grow in kindness or generosity toward those closest to us, as well as those far away.
An extract : It's only later that I will realize Anne's story has helped me find a solution to a dilemma that I've been struggling with since coming to Africa.
For weeks I have been reporting on the tragedies and misfortunes of people trapped in the consequences of armed conflict in Africa.
Each story is important, I believe, and resonates with the common denominator of our human experience: the desire for a peaceful life and to have enough resources to take care of ourselves and our families.
But I became concerned, especially after reading some of the reader postings, that our reporting efforts* -- while certainly educating people -- could also be overwhelming them.**
"What can I do?"
"How can I help?"
"This story is so horribly sad, I just want to cry."
All valid responses, but they made me wonder if the information we were providing through story after story would eventually sap hope, rather than build it.
Part of the obvious answer for me as a reporter is to try to show the full dimension of these people's lives -- not just their suffering -- but also their silliness, their laughter, their humility, their grace.
And thinking about Anne's story, I also realized that, while it is important to take action, to be a part of the solution, a story is empowering in its own right.
Just by knowing something, being aware, maybe we become better people. Knowledge can help us to build greater empathy for everyone in our lives, not just people in Africa.
Through hearing someone's story, in all its complexities, we gain the potential to grow in kindness or generosity toward those closest to us, as well as those far away.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
~ Mark Twain (Innocents Abroad)
Thanks Française .
~ Mark Twain (Innocents Abroad)
Thanks Française .
Arrghh forgive me my sad day and blame Mark for the fact that I blogged throughout it. Sad days never last so long, tomorrow normal services should be resumed ...
The fact that I'm a prolific blogger really means I should disappear with my camera on the days when the weight of the world makes me feel about as big as a pocketmouse.
I'll finish for the day and leave you with a photograph that made me smile ... having deleted two of the posts where I complained or was too grouchy which also made me smile.
Tot ziens.
Scarlet, a Belgian internet provider
I recently made up an interim business card.
Although working for free, I wanted my name out there with the photography work that I've done.
I chose to use Scarlet, a Belgian internet provider for my business email address ... knowing that yahoo and hotmail both lose email occasionally, acknowledging that they don't offer the most business-like email address I could have.
I sent out some photography samples.
No replies from anyone.
I wrote to friends here in Belgium.
Silence.
Finally Gert phoned up the support services last Friday.
Welllll ... they told him, it seems that one of their mail servers fails to allow incoming email ... they would get back to him.
Today it is Thursday, still nothing.
This problem is complicated by the fact that the two language options for negotiating your way into Scarlet support service are French and Dutch and is then further complicated by the fact that you have to wait a sometimes considerable amount of time for an answer.
Fine in New Zealand where calls of this kind are free ... deadly where you pay by the minute in Belgium.
Round one of setting myself up as a business in Belgium has run into problems.
Tomorrow is a new day ...
Although working for free, I wanted my name out there with the photography work that I've done.
I chose to use Scarlet, a Belgian internet provider for my business email address ... knowing that yahoo and hotmail both lose email occasionally, acknowledging that they don't offer the most business-like email address I could have.
I sent out some photography samples.
No replies from anyone.
I wrote to friends here in Belgium.
Silence.
Finally Gert phoned up the support services last Friday.
Welllll ... they told him, it seems that one of their mail servers fails to allow incoming email ... they would get back to him.
Today it is Thursday, still nothing.
This problem is complicated by the fact that the two language options for negotiating your way into Scarlet support service are French and Dutch and is then further complicated by the fact that you have to wait a sometimes considerable amount of time for an answer.
Fine in New Zealand where calls of this kind are free ... deadly where you pay by the minute in Belgium.
Round one of setting myself up as a business in Belgium has run into problems.
Tomorrow is a new day ...
Human Rights Watch
WHO More than 150 dedicated professionals work for Human Rights Watch around the world. We are lawyers, journalists, academics, and country experts of many nationalities and diverse backgrounds. We often join forces with human rights groups from other countries to further our common goals. A growing cadre of volunteers supports us.WHAT - Human Rights Watch is the largest human rights organization based in the United States. Human Rights Watch researchers conduct fact-finding investigations into human rights abuses in all regions of the world. Human Rights Watch then publishes those findings in dozens of books and reports every year, generating extensive coverage in local and international media.
This publicity helps to embarrass abusive governments in the eyes of their citizens and the world. Human Rights Watch then meets with government officials to urge changes in policy and practice -- at the United Nations, the European Union, in Washington and in capitals around the world.
In extreme circumstances, Human Rights Watch presses for the withdrawal of military and economic support from governments that egregiously violate the rights of their people. In moments of crisis, Human Rights Watch provides up-to-the-minute information about conflicts while they are underway. Refugee accounts, which were collected, synthesized and cross-corroborated by our researchers, helped shape the response of the international community to recent wars in Kosovo and Chechnya.
Their About section makes interesting reading.
Thanks Cindy .
Hotel staff in Spain take a discreet action against the CIA
Imagine if the CIA were actually held accountable for their mistakes ...
Der Spiegel reports: The US intelligence agents involved in wrongly kidnapping a German citizen of Arab descent could soon face warrants for their arrest. Clues to their identity have turned up from Spanish authorities and German TV journalists.
Al-Masri says he was wrongly abducted on New Year's Eve 2003 in Macedonia and detained in various secret overseas prisons often referred to as "black sites." His five month ordeal finally ended when he was dumped on an abandoned road in Albania.
I never realised but Munich's Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that prosecutors had received a list of names of suspected US kidnappers from Spanish officials. "We now have very specific questions for the Spanish authorities," state prosecutor August Stern told the paper.
They have this list because hotel staff took an action that stunned and delighted me. The list from Spain is key to pursuing al-Masri's abductors since many of the secret CIA flights stopped on the Spanish Mediterranean island of Majorca. Several US intelligence employees were there the day before al-Masri's kidnapping and were booked into a luxury hotel -- albeit under fake names. However, Süddeutsche reported that the hotel's staff made copies of their passport photos, enabling them to be identified.
Der Spiegel reports: The US intelligence agents involved in wrongly kidnapping a German citizen of Arab descent could soon face warrants for their arrest. Clues to their identity have turned up from Spanish authorities and German TV journalists.
Al-Masri says he was wrongly abducted on New Year's Eve 2003 in Macedonia and detained in various secret overseas prisons often referred to as "black sites." His five month ordeal finally ended when he was dumped on an abandoned road in Albania.
I never realised but Munich's Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that prosecutors had received a list of names of suspected US kidnappers from Spanish officials. "We now have very specific questions for the Spanish authorities," state prosecutor August Stern told the paper.
They have this list because hotel staff took an action that stunned and delighted me. The list from Spain is key to pursuing al-Masri's abductors since many of the secret CIA flights stopped on the Spanish Mediterranean island of Majorca. Several US intelligence employees were there the day before al-Masri's kidnapping and were booked into a luxury hotel -- albeit under fake names. However, Süddeutsche reported that the hotel's staff made copies of their passport photos, enabling them to be identified.
A little more on Oriana Fallaci
I have discovered that Andrea Bocelli's music is something like a cure for sadness if played loudly enough and to the exclusion of everything.
I was reading a website about Oriana Fallici , the Italian journalist who recently died.
She amuses me, although I wouldn't have contemplated laughing in front of her. Amuses me and yet, in this funny politically correct world we're sometimes caught up in, I also find I want to shout 'Bravo'.
She wrote: "I do not feel myself to be, nor will I ever succeed in feeling like, a cold recorder of what I see and hear. On every professional experience I leave shreds of my heart and soul; and I participate in what I see or hear as though the matter concerned me personally and were one on which I ought to take a stand (in fact I always take one, based on a specific moral choice)."
from, the preface to Interview with History
And I find that I have to admire a woman who believes the following in a world where ineffectual idiots can often rise to the top and lead a nation:
Fallaci defends her unique approach on the grounds that she is not simply a journalist but a historian as well. She told Bonfante: "A journalist lives history in the best of ways, that is in the moment that history takes place. He lives history, he touches history with his hands, looks at it with his eyes, he listens to it with his ears."
To Jonathan Cott in a Rolling Stone interview, she explained:
"I am the judge. I am the one who decides.
Listen: if I am a painter and I do your portrait, have I or haven't I the right to paint you as I want?"
Thanks for the link Rob .
I was reading a website about Oriana Fallici , the Italian journalist who recently died.
She amuses me, although I wouldn't have contemplated laughing in front of her. Amuses me and yet, in this funny politically correct world we're sometimes caught up in, I also find I want to shout 'Bravo'.
She wrote: "I do not feel myself to be, nor will I ever succeed in feeling like, a cold recorder of what I see and hear. On every professional experience I leave shreds of my heart and soul; and I participate in what I see or hear as though the matter concerned me personally and were one on which I ought to take a stand (in fact I always take one, based on a specific moral choice)."
from, the preface to Interview with History
And I find that I have to admire a woman who believes the following in a world where ineffectual idiots can often rise to the top and lead a nation:
Fallaci defends her unique approach on the grounds that she is not simply a journalist but a historian as well. She told Bonfante: "A journalist lives history in the best of ways, that is in the moment that history takes place. He lives history, he touches history with his hands, looks at it with his eyes, he listens to it with his ears."
To Jonathan Cott in a Rolling Stone interview, she explained:
"I am the judge. I am the one who decides.
Listen: if I am a painter and I do your portrait, have I or haven't I the right to paint you as I want?"
Thanks for the link Rob .
Erkan's post on the article titled Turkey in Transition was interesting.
Surrounded by 13 of the 18 conflict zones in the world, located at the junction of Europe and Asia, centrally placed on the energy route to Europe, the future of Turkey is bound to impact the future of the world.
Strategic Foresight Group was invited to Turkey in February 2005 for consultations with the government for our Sustainable Global Security Initiative. We were fortunate to meet a wide range of leaders and scholars, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was one of the first leaders we met.
While the extreme right neo-nazis of Europe and other political beings often have educations, they don't seem to be able to think through the ramifications of excluding Turkey from European politics.
The article ends with this: Turkey is facing an uncertain future on a number of counts. Will terror attacks increase? Or will it be able to bring development to its Eastern region in a manner that reduces the present inequalities? Will it be able to join the EU and become the bridge between the Islamic world and Europe?
Turkey is truly in transition. And the manner of its transition will determine the future of a vast part of the world.
Ilmas Futehally is Executive Director and Vice President of the Strategic Foresight Group , a think tank that helps policy makers to anticipate and shape, the future in uncertain times.
It produces fresh perspectives, by combining research with policy change and conflict-resolution initiatives. SFG brings out confidential and public research reports. Its in-depth scenarios in the context of the war in Iraq, instability in Central Asia, religious extremism in Pakistan and India’s economy has earned SFG, a reputation for correct projections.
Surrounded by 13 of the 18 conflict zones in the world, located at the junction of Europe and Asia, centrally placed on the energy route to Europe, the future of Turkey is bound to impact the future of the world.
Strategic Foresight Group was invited to Turkey in February 2005 for consultations with the government for our Sustainable Global Security Initiative. We were fortunate to meet a wide range of leaders and scholars, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was one of the first leaders we met.
While the extreme right neo-nazis of Europe and other political beings often have educations, they don't seem to be able to think through the ramifications of excluding Turkey from European politics.
The article ends with this: Turkey is facing an uncertain future on a number of counts. Will terror attacks increase? Or will it be able to bring development to its Eastern region in a manner that reduces the present inequalities? Will it be able to join the EU and become the bridge between the Islamic world and Europe?
Turkey is truly in transition. And the manner of its transition will determine the future of a vast part of the world.
Ilmas Futehally is Executive Director and Vice President of the Strategic Foresight Group , a think tank that helps policy makers to anticipate and shape, the future in uncertain times.
It produces fresh perspectives, by combining research with policy change and conflict-resolution initiatives. SFG brings out confidential and public research reports. Its in-depth scenarios in the context of the war in Iraq, instability in Central Asia, religious extremism in Pakistan and India’s economy has earned SFG, a reputation for correct projections.
Welcome to a 'feeling sorry for myself' kind of day in the life of an immigrant to Belgium
I think part of my distaste for blogging the highs and lows of my life is that the lows embarass me.There is this anger that engulfs me when 'yet another' bureaucratic bungle affects my life in ways that those bungling can't imagine and I don't like wasting my time with the anger.
I love people and travelling, photography, good books, nice wine, music and working. Yes really, I love working, and earning money is of great interest to me.
Meeting and falling in love with a Belgian has adversely many aspects of my life ...
So this morning is an incredibly low day which may improve as the hours pass.
I didn't come to Belgium to find a way enter Europe.
Europe wasn't a dream of mine.
I simply met this guy who lives here and has kids we can't take away from their mother ... why Belgium would make things so impossible ... some days completely untenable, for a New Zealander who clearly has other places to be, is beyond me.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Trafigura, a Dutch oil trading company
Who wants to live in Africa ...?
Der Spiegel has an interesting article on European companies using Africa as a dump for toxic materials.
Some experts see Abidjan's toxic cocktail as Africa's biggest environmental scandal yet. But the odyssey of the Probo Koala reveals the scandal as a sordid story that unfolded in the heart of Europe.
It began on the afternoon of July 2. As the ship was unloaded in Amsterdam's petroleum port, a west wind carried its sharp stench into nearby residential neighborhoods, where residents notified the police. "This is the worst stench we have ever experienced here," said an employee of Amsterdam Port Services (APS), a waste disposal company.
APS took a sample of the black substance from one of the ship's tanks. Though declared as "waste water" used to clean gasoline shipping tanks, chemical analysis told a different story. The hydrocarbons in the material contained high concentrations of a substance known as mercaptan -- a substance which is found in some crude oils and is produced by decaying vegetable matter, which is highly toxic -- and smelly -- in high concentrations.
Authorities halted the unloading of the waste. The captain of the ship, which was Greek-owned and registered in Panama, angrily turned down a proposal by APS officials to dispose of the waste properly at special facilities in Rotterdam. The cost would have been about $250,000, plus another $250,000 in contractual penalties for the ship's likely delayed arrival at its next port of call in Estonia.
For executives at Trafigura, a Dutch oil trading company with annual sales of $28 billion, that cost was too high. Management decided to send the ship on its way.
Three days later, the Probo Koala set sail again, now bound for Estonia. Under international regulations governing the cross-border shipping of hazardous waste, German authorities should have been notified of the ship's passage to German and Danish waters. Amsterdam port officials did send an urgent message to their counterparts in Paldiski, an Estonian port, informing them that a ship with a "suspicious cargo" was headed their way.
The Probo Koala was also unable to get rid of its chemical soup in Paldiski, where it took on a shipment of gasoline bound for Africa. After unloading the gasoline in Nigeria, the Trafigura-chartered vessel arrived in the Ivory Coast in August. A company called Tommy, which had just been established in July, took delivery of the sludge which the European ports had turned away.
Read on if curious ...
Der Spiegel has an interesting article on European companies using Africa as a dump for toxic materials.
Some experts see Abidjan's toxic cocktail as Africa's biggest environmental scandal yet. But the odyssey of the Probo Koala reveals the scandal as a sordid story that unfolded in the heart of Europe.
It began on the afternoon of July 2. As the ship was unloaded in Amsterdam's petroleum port, a west wind carried its sharp stench into nearby residential neighborhoods, where residents notified the police. "This is the worst stench we have ever experienced here," said an employee of Amsterdam Port Services (APS), a waste disposal company.
APS took a sample of the black substance from one of the ship's tanks. Though declared as "waste water" used to clean gasoline shipping tanks, chemical analysis told a different story. The hydrocarbons in the material contained high concentrations of a substance known as mercaptan -- a substance which is found in some crude oils and is produced by decaying vegetable matter, which is highly toxic -- and smelly -- in high concentrations.
Authorities halted the unloading of the waste. The captain of the ship, which was Greek-owned and registered in Panama, angrily turned down a proposal by APS officials to dispose of the waste properly at special facilities in Rotterdam. The cost would have been about $250,000, plus another $250,000 in contractual penalties for the ship's likely delayed arrival at its next port of call in Estonia.
For executives at Trafigura, a Dutch oil trading company with annual sales of $28 billion, that cost was too high. Management decided to send the ship on its way.
Three days later, the Probo Koala set sail again, now bound for Estonia. Under international regulations governing the cross-border shipping of hazardous waste, German authorities should have been notified of the ship's passage to German and Danish waters. Amsterdam port officials did send an urgent message to their counterparts in Paldiski, an Estonian port, informing them that a ship with a "suspicious cargo" was headed their way.
The Probo Koala was also unable to get rid of its chemical soup in Paldiski, where it took on a shipment of gasoline bound for Africa. After unloading the gasoline in Nigeria, the Trafigura-chartered vessel arrived in the Ivory Coast in August. A company called Tommy, which had just been established in July, took delivery of the sludge which the European ports had turned away.
Read on if curious ...
All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous, unpremeditated act without benefit of experience.
Henry Miller
Los Pilones, Amsterdam
Alison took me to this superb Mexican restuarant the first time we were in Amsterdam together.One mouthful of Alambres con Pollo at Los Pilones and I was a convert to Mexican food. The mojitoes are lovely too and the ambience ... well, if possible, reserve a table as the restaurant tiny and its reputation is big.
You can find them at Kerkstraat 63, 1017 GC, Amsterdam. And reservations can be made on 0203204651.
That's Alison on the left and me on the right ...
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Flame
It was just me and the mosquito candle out on the balcony last night.
I've never tried nightime photography but I kind of liked this ...
Amsterdam
I just took a phone call and was invited to spend a couple of days wandering in Amsterdam ...
Did I want to come?
Well you know what ... I most certainly did!
Huge smiles as I write 'bye for a couple of days'.
Did I want to come?
Well you know what ... I most certainly did!
Huge smiles as I write 'bye for a couple of days'.
Ms Baker writes ...
I hadn't been over to the Desperately Wandering blog in a while and it was time to catch up with what was happening to my two favourite Kuwaitis ...
I wanted to link to this post by Ms Baker.
The way that she ends this post is important.
I wanted to link to this post by Ms Baker.
The way that she ends this post is important.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
I definately need to go home and see the people who have known me forever ...
I just watched 'Love Actually' and teared up at the end, when everyone meets everyone at the airport ... it's been 2 years+ since I was last home.
Let's just hope that I can start my business easily now and that tons of people love my work because I need to earn that airfare back to New Zealand.
I just watched 'Love Actually' and teared up at the end, when everyone meets everyone at the airport ... it's been 2 years+ since I was last home.
Let's just hope that I can start my business easily now and that tons of people love my work because I need to earn that airfare back to New Zealand.
I was talking with Mark on skype and he dared me to reveal more of who I am on my blog. He's known me since he was maybe 10 years old.
I pointed out that I have 47.5 moods per day which would ever bore people ... or else cause them to send me free medication.
Mmmm, so I'm thinking on that one.
Paul, my friend for the last 27 years, called me out on my politics today, mocking me for my stance on a particular post.
Paul was the one who identified me as a leftie, after hours of arguing with me from his right-leaning perspective ...
Leftie ... ?
My politics are simple, it's how I live:
1. Do I want it to happen to me?
2. Would I do it to someone else?
It would be simpler for both Anonymous in Australia (Paul) and I, if he accepted I won't change my belief system and moved on however we've been arguing for years, I can't see it changing.
I wondered about what Mark meant when he suggested 'more of my self' and considered the implications if I talked of my recent fears about visiting Gert's doctor - as the wife of a Belgian I now have rights to health care ...
This doctor is the one who told me to get my blood pressure under control last October when she returned my lost hearing. I was 98.9% deaf when I arrived here in Belgium, she cured me after assuring me she didn't believe I could hear anything.
My winter spent as an 'accidental' in-process immigrant to Belgium played havoc with me and my self. I ran out of money 3 months into the '6 week immigrant process' that District House had assured me about and so it was that I have used Gert's money for the necessary and forgotten luxuries because I didn't come here to live off someone else.
One year of refusing the luxuries took a toll on my happiness ... I actually gained weight, mortifyingly enough. The doctor is not going to be sympathetic. Who understands the creation of 'pretend routines and work' ... as in sitting down blogging while caught between countries?
I spent that year living on travel insurance as an 'in-process immigrant'. I was mindful of the small print that said any serious illness would see me sent home for treatment (meaning I would have to begin my farcical process of application to live in Belgium again) and so being the wise woman I am, I decided to postpone anything serious like cancer and it's now with some trepidation and a huge imagination, that I'm preparing myself to go and see this matter-of-fact 'your health is your choice' doctor.
So I told Mark that sadness and imagination doesn't make interesting reading.
And okay, perhaps I could write about my political 'discussions' with Gert but I suspect he might dooce me and rightly so.
He's a liberal democrat and I sometimes spend hours questioning the ideology of his political party or wanting to discuss the way racism appears to have permeated the fabric of Belgium society. He sometimes wakes to a question, finding he has to defend all he believes in in English because I'm so bad at Nederlands.
And it has to be said that he would be right to dooce me if I wrote of those discussions and/or of course, people might send me medication ;)
I already know that had Paul in Australia spent more than a few hours in political 'discussion' with me about his ideology, I would have been fed to the crocodiles, then again I've know Paul since we were 14 and therefore he's probably entirely comfortable feeding old friends to the reptiles.
I don't know ... is Mark right, or am I?
More of my self, or more of what I am reading about ...?
I pointed out that I have 47.5 moods per day which would ever bore people ... or else cause them to send me free medication.
Mmmm, so I'm thinking on that one.
Paul, my friend for the last 27 years, called me out on my politics today, mocking me for my stance on a particular post.
Paul was the one who identified me as a leftie, after hours of arguing with me from his right-leaning perspective ...
Leftie ... ?
My politics are simple, it's how I live:
1. Do I want it to happen to me?
2. Would I do it to someone else?
It would be simpler for both Anonymous in Australia (Paul) and I, if he accepted I won't change my belief system and moved on however we've been arguing for years, I can't see it changing.
I wondered about what Mark meant when he suggested 'more of my self' and considered the implications if I talked of my recent fears about visiting Gert's doctor - as the wife of a Belgian I now have rights to health care ...
This doctor is the one who told me to get my blood pressure under control last October when she returned my lost hearing. I was 98.9% deaf when I arrived here in Belgium, she cured me after assuring me she didn't believe I could hear anything.
My winter spent as an 'accidental' in-process immigrant to Belgium played havoc with me and my self. I ran out of money 3 months into the '6 week immigrant process' that District House had assured me about and so it was that I have used Gert's money for the necessary and forgotten luxuries because I didn't come here to live off someone else.
One year of refusing the luxuries took a toll on my happiness ... I actually gained weight, mortifyingly enough. The doctor is not going to be sympathetic. Who understands the creation of 'pretend routines and work' ... as in sitting down blogging while caught between countries?
I spent that year living on travel insurance as an 'in-process immigrant'. I was mindful of the small print that said any serious illness would see me sent home for treatment (meaning I would have to begin my farcical process of application to live in Belgium again) and so being the wise woman I am, I decided to postpone anything serious like cancer and it's now with some trepidation and a huge imagination, that I'm preparing myself to go and see this matter-of-fact 'your health is your choice' doctor.
So I told Mark that sadness and imagination doesn't make interesting reading.
And okay, perhaps I could write about my political 'discussions' with Gert but I suspect he might dooce me and rightly so.
He's a liberal democrat and I sometimes spend hours questioning the ideology of his political party or wanting to discuss the way racism appears to have permeated the fabric of Belgium society. He sometimes wakes to a question, finding he has to defend all he believes in in English because I'm so bad at Nederlands.
And it has to be said that he would be right to dooce me if I wrote of those discussions and/or of course, people might send me medication ;)
I already know that had Paul in Australia spent more than a few hours in political 'discussion' with me about his ideology, I would have been fed to the crocodiles, then again I've know Paul since we were 14 and therefore he's probably entirely comfortable feeding old friends to the reptiles.
I don't know ... is Mark right, or am I?
More of my self, or more of what I am reading about ...?
Are we being blind, unbelieving and slow ... ?
"For surely the war was made to abolish Dachau and all the other places like Dachau and everything that Dachau stands for. We are not entirely guiltless, we the Allies, because it took us twelve years to open the gates of Dachau. We were blind and unbelieving and slow, and that we can never be again."
Martha Gellhorn
American war correspondant during World War II
present at Dachau when the Nazis surrendered.
Josh Wolf, American Blogger Jailed in America for ...
Poynter Online is an interesting source for news stories being discussed by journalists. The latest headline to catch my eye was Jailed Video Blogger Loses Appeal .
Yesterday, Red Herring reported that freelance journalist Josh Wolf's appeal was rejected by a three-member federal court panel on Friday. Wolf was jailed for refusing to release video he shot of a violent protest last summer.
Because the protest turned violent — a police officer suffered a fractured skull and a small explosive device was put under a police car—San Francisco’s chief of police called in the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force to investigate.
Government officials disagree with Wolf regarding his right as a freelance journalist to choose not to allow a 15-minute chunk of footage from the protest to be used as evidence.
California’s shield law protects journalists from being forced by subpoena to reveal sources. But questions have been raised over Wolf’s journalist status.
In post 9/11 America, even journalists with mainstream news publications are facing increasing scrutiny, such as The New York Times’ Judith Miller, who spent time behind bars for an alleged CIA leak in 2005.
You can keep up with the news here on Josh's Blog.
Yesterday, Red Herring reported that freelance journalist Josh Wolf's appeal was rejected by a three-member federal court panel on Friday. Wolf was jailed for refusing to release video he shot of a violent protest last summer.
Because the protest turned violent — a police officer suffered a fractured skull and a small explosive device was put under a police car—San Francisco’s chief of police called in the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force to investigate.
Government officials disagree with Wolf regarding his right as a freelance journalist to choose not to allow a 15-minute chunk of footage from the protest to be used as evidence.
California’s shield law protects journalists from being forced by subpoena to reveal sources. But questions have been raised over Wolf’s journalist status.
In post 9/11 America, even journalists with mainstream news publications are facing increasing scrutiny, such as The New York Times’ Judith Miller, who spent time behind bars for an alleged CIA leak in 2005.
You can keep up with the news here on Josh's Blog.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Brussels bound today ...
I was making excuses not to travel to Brussels today however Joyce convinced me to go ...
I was showered, dressed and on the train 30 minutes after being convinced, arriving a staggering 5 minutes early at the meeting place I wasn't sure I would find or arrive at in time in Brussels Central Station.
Sarina arrived just after us and we set out on foot for the lovely Le Pain Quotidien at Rue des Sablons 11.
Despite being an advertised New Zealand expats lunch, we were the only three there ... at the very big table. No matter, we quickly adjusted and each ordered one of their stunning open sandwiches.
Stunning?
Mine was tuna, fried courgette with olive paste on a thin slices of brown bread.
Conversation was easy and, as is usual for me on these outings, time flew ...
Joyce jogs and walks, Sarina plays sport ... I blog. I regretted my blogging as they showed me the city on foot. There was a beautiful park whose name escapes me tonight (tiredness), and then an informative stop at the New Zealand Embassy ... Yes, you really can trade your New Zealand drivers Licence for a Belgian one, no exam.
Then there was what seemed like a mad dash to me - probably a stroll for the other two - across the city to where we said goodbye to Sarina before heading into The Royal War and Military History Museum at parc du Cinquantenaire 3.
The entry is free and the old war planes inside took my breath away. In another life I spent 4 years as a New Zealand Airforce Officer's wife. He was a teacher there for a time, so we did Base life and, much as I despise war, I fell in love with the planes.
Wandering amongst the planes today was a little piece of heaven for me. I'll have to go back when I don't have closing time hanging over my head ... Belgians take 'closing time' very seriously and so it was that we were politely but firmly shepherded out around 4.30pm.
A metro ride under the city and most of my body surface played host to a series of waterfalls brought on by the staggering humidity in the underground today. I was mortified but wiping it away only encouraged more and so I stood very still occasionally asking the adult and polite equivalent of 'Are we there yet?'
We wandered the restaurant-filled streets behind Grand Place, popped into the Tourism Office and then parted ways in Central Station ... that was me, sprinting off to catch the 5.25pm IR train back to Antwerpen.
I missed it by a fraction of a second and foolishly climbed onto the next Antwerpen train because I was hot and tired and liked the idea of sitting down.
It was an L train - as in Local ... a train to be avoided because it stops at EVERY station between here in Antwerpen. It took one hour and approximately 14 stops to get home.
It didn't help to know that had I waited 8 minutes longer in Brussels, I could have caught an IR train - as in Inter Regional ... which stops maybe 5 times, and would have had me in Antwerpen 30 minutes before the one that left 8 minutes earlier.
I guess I'll never forget what I learned about trains today and that's a useful piece of knowledge really ... if I want to look at the bright side.
Anyway it was a grand day out, I'm glad that I went.
Thanks for convincing me Joyce.
I was showered, dressed and on the train 30 minutes after being convinced, arriving a staggering 5 minutes early at the meeting place I wasn't sure I would find or arrive at in time in Brussels Central Station.Sarina arrived just after us and we set out on foot for the lovely Le Pain Quotidien at Rue des Sablons 11.
Despite being an advertised New Zealand expats lunch, we were the only three there ... at the very big table. No matter, we quickly adjusted and each ordered one of their stunning open sandwiches.
Stunning?
Mine was tuna, fried courgette with olive paste on a thin slices of brown bread.
Conversation was easy and, as is usual for me on these outings, time flew ...
Joyce jogs and walks, Sarina plays sport ... I blog. I regretted my blogging as they showed me the city on foot. There was a beautiful park whose name escapes me tonight (tiredness), and then an informative stop at the New Zealand Embassy ... Yes, you really can trade your New Zealand drivers Licence for a Belgian one, no exam.
Then there was what seemed like a mad dash to me - probably a stroll for the other two - across the city to where we said goodbye to Sarina before heading into The Royal War and Military History Museum at parc du Cinquantenaire 3. The entry is free and the old war planes inside took my breath away. In another life I spent 4 years as a New Zealand Airforce Officer's wife. He was a teacher there for a time, so we did Base life and, much as I despise war, I fell in love with the planes.
Wandering amongst the planes today was a little piece of heaven for me. I'll have to go back when I don't have closing time hanging over my head ... Belgians take 'closing time' very seriously and so it was that we were politely but firmly shepherded out around 4.30pm.
A metro ride under the city and most of my body surface played host to a series of waterfalls brought on by the staggering humidity in the underground today. I was mortified but wiping it away only encouraged more and so I stood very still occasionally asking the adult and polite equivalent of 'Are we there yet?'
We wandered the restaurant-filled streets behind Grand Place, popped into the Tourism Office and then parted ways in Central Station ... that was me, sprinting off to catch the 5.25pm IR train back to Antwerpen.
I missed it by a fraction of a second and foolishly climbed onto the next Antwerpen train because I was hot and tired and liked the idea of sitting down.
It was an L train - as in Local ... a train to be avoided because it stops at EVERY station between here in Antwerpen. It took one hour and approximately 14 stops to get home.
It didn't help to know that had I waited 8 minutes longer in Brussels, I could have caught an IR train - as in Inter Regional ... which stops maybe 5 times, and would have had me in Antwerpen 30 minutes before the one that left 8 minutes earlier.
I guess I'll never forget what I learned about trains today and that's a useful piece of knowledge really ... if I want to look at the bright side.
Anyway it was a grand day out, I'm glad that I went.
Thanks for convincing me Joyce.
Sometimes there's nothing left to say ...
The United States -- and Germany -- discovered quite quickly that the accusations against Kurnaz were groundless. And yet he was not released.
Der Spiegel published Cem Özdemir's story of meeting Murat Kurnaz after his release from Guantanamo. Cem is the vice chairman of the special investigative commission formed to clarify the extent of the German government's complicity with illegal CIA activities in Europe.
Twenty-four-year-old Murat Kurnaz spent five years as a detainee in the US military camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. He was wrongly identified as an accomplice of the Taliban and recently released.
How does one express one's sense of what that person must have experienced? The man in question is now 24 years old. During a period of almost five years -- a period during which I married, became a father and was elected into the European Parliament -- this man was effectively stripped of his rights and had to live in complete isolation, in conditions that have driven other detainees to commit suicide.
Murat Kurnaz once had a "normal" life too. He wanted to start a family in Germany, along with his Turkish fiancé. He had completed his apprenticeship as a shipbuilder. He played guitar in his free time and liked sports -- like many other people his age.
He was "in the wrong place at the wrong time," is what insiders in Washington say -- sometimes cynically, sometimes laconically. They know Kurnaz was innocent when he was apprehended and detained.
But wait, there's more to Murat's story: Just a few days after his release and return to his German hometown of Bremen, the Turkish general consulate in nearby Hanover got in touch with Kurnaz -- but not in order to join me in wishing him and his mother "gecmis olsun." (may it be over) Instead, the consulate reminded Kurnaz of his duty as a Turkish citizen -- that of doing his military service in Turkey.
The Germans, eager to add to their crime of leaving an innocent civilian in Guantanamo Bay then did this: He still has to visit several government offices in Bremen in order to secure his permanent German residency permit.
It's only following a November 2005 decision by Germany's constitutional court -- the highest legal instance in the country -- that Kurnaz can even be certain he hasn't already forfeited his residency permit. Because that's exactly what Bremen Interior Minister Thomas Röwekamp of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party claimed he had done.
Röwekamp added the incredible explanation that Kurnaz had missed the deadline for making a formal request for the extension of his permit, as required by law -- as if Bremen's alien registration office had a branch office at Guantánamo.
Der Spiegel published Cem Özdemir's story of meeting Murat Kurnaz after his release from Guantanamo. Cem is the vice chairman of the special investigative commission formed to clarify the extent of the German government's complicity with illegal CIA activities in Europe.
Twenty-four-year-old Murat Kurnaz spent five years as a detainee in the US military camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. He was wrongly identified as an accomplice of the Taliban and recently released.
How does one express one's sense of what that person must have experienced? The man in question is now 24 years old. During a period of almost five years -- a period during which I married, became a father and was elected into the European Parliament -- this man was effectively stripped of his rights and had to live in complete isolation, in conditions that have driven other detainees to commit suicide.
Murat Kurnaz once had a "normal" life too. He wanted to start a family in Germany, along with his Turkish fiancé. He had completed his apprenticeship as a shipbuilder. He played guitar in his free time and liked sports -- like many other people his age.
He was "in the wrong place at the wrong time," is what insiders in Washington say -- sometimes cynically, sometimes laconically. They know Kurnaz was innocent when he was apprehended and detained.
But wait, there's more to Murat's story: Just a few days after his release and return to his German hometown of Bremen, the Turkish general consulate in nearby Hanover got in touch with Kurnaz -- but not in order to join me in wishing him and his mother "gecmis olsun." (may it be over) Instead, the consulate reminded Kurnaz of his duty as a Turkish citizen -- that of doing his military service in Turkey.
The Germans, eager to add to their crime of leaving an innocent civilian in Guantanamo Bay then did this: He still has to visit several government offices in Bremen in order to secure his permanent German residency permit.
It's only following a November 2005 decision by Germany's constitutional court -- the highest legal instance in the country -- that Kurnaz can even be certain he hasn't already forfeited his residency permit. Because that's exactly what Bremen Interior Minister Thomas Röwekamp of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party claimed he had done.
Röwekamp added the incredible explanation that Kurnaz had missed the deadline for making a formal request for the extension of his permit, as required by law -- as if Bremen's alien registration office had a branch office at Guantánamo.
Kiwis have their say about Vegemite versus Marmite
Martin, a Kiwi friend here in Belgium, sent me an email on the subject of Vegemite.
I had to post his response, it made me laugh when I opened it.
I like Marmite. Vegemite is soft stuff. Marmite hurts!
Marmite is introduced to everyone who visits our house.
My Mum loves Marmite. So do I.
I reckon Vegemite is for softies.
Chiefbiscuit a kiwi back home also offered up a response. She said, 'However I hate to say this as a kiwi - but I prefer marmite ...'
So clearly, Marmite is another spread that Kiwis eat.
What is Marmite ...?
Basically, used brewer's yeast is broken down to release soluble amino acids and proteins. This soluble material is then concentrated and filtered a few times before going through a unique (and top secret) process for flavour development.
At the end of all this, we end up with yeast extract paste - nearly Marmite but not quite. The finishing touches make all the difference. We add an extra blend of vitamins, vegetable and spice extracts to create the taste your mouth adores!
It seems that whether you love or hate it could all rest on your tastebuds though ... Marmite leaves little room for a middle ground - you either love it or you hate it. The story goes that two people who were working on an advertising campaign for Marmite found themselves divided by their tastebuds: one of them adored it and the other didn't.
And that's how it is ...
I had to post his response, it made me laugh when I opened it.
I like Marmite. Vegemite is soft stuff. Marmite hurts!Marmite is introduced to everyone who visits our house.
My Mum loves Marmite. So do I.
I reckon Vegemite is for softies.
Chiefbiscuit a kiwi back home also offered up a response. She said, 'However I hate to say this as a kiwi - but I prefer marmite ...'
So clearly, Marmite is another spread that Kiwis eat.
What is Marmite ...?
Basically, used brewer's yeast is broken down to release soluble amino acids and proteins. This soluble material is then concentrated and filtered a few times before going through a unique (and top secret) process for flavour development.
At the end of all this, we end up with yeast extract paste - nearly Marmite but not quite. The finishing touches make all the difference. We add an extra blend of vitamins, vegetable and spice extracts to create the taste your mouth adores!
It seems that whether you love or hate it could all rest on your tastebuds though ... Marmite leaves little room for a middle ground - you either love it or you hate it. The story goes that two people who were working on an advertising campaign for Marmite found themselves divided by their tastebuds: one of them adored it and the other didn't.
And that's how it is ...
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Scott Stulberg, Photographer
The real journey of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
Marcel Proust
I love that quote, found on Scott Stulberg's 'About' page.
Manic sent me an email telling me about a photographer called Scott Stulberg . His website is quite quite stunning.
Thanks manic.
Marcel Proust
I love that quote, found on Scott Stulberg's 'About' page.
Manic sent me an email telling me about a photographer called Scott Stulberg . His website is quite quite stunning.
Thanks manic.
A lovely day out in Antwerpen
I wandered off to meet old and new friends in the city this morning and without intending to we ended up lounging around for most of the day ... networking really ... drinking coffee in a lovely outdoor cafe in an old part of the city.
Note to self: I love that cafe, I must do a write-up on it ... excellent coffee, lovely food and good service.
After an hour or so, there was a short discussion with regards to lunch venue, short because every newcomer to Antwerpen has to visit Het Elfde Gebod and that's where I took this photograph.
Subject: Onze Lieve Vrouew Kathedral spire (Cathedral of Our Lady)
Location: table outside at Het Elfde Gebod
Company: Kathryn (USA), Alison (Canada)
Two glasses of chilled white wine, some bread and a large slice of brie ... time flew.
I had an appointment at 4.30pm ... and for a rather stunning example of the multi-lingual abilities of Antwerpens click here and choose your language.
PINA are the people who assist immigrants with integration here in the city and I had had an idea for a project. I went back to take photographs today. Just by the way, they need volunteers ... I imagine it's a service run all over the world and they always need volunteers.
My idea wasn't one they had running and they're going to try implementing it. Let's see what happens but suffice to say, it's to do with me using my camera and this poem I can't link to on my own blog. You'll find it posted on 24 August - Poetry Thursday. Written by Mourid Barghouti, an extract ...
Can the earth contain
The cruelty of a mother making her coffee alone
On a Diaspora morning?
She wants to go to a planet away from the earth
Where all directions lead to the harbour of the bosom,
The gulf of two arms
That receive and know no farewells.
She wants airplanes to come back only.
Airports to be for those returning,
The planes to land and never leave again.
Note to self: I love that cafe, I must do a write-up on it ... excellent coffee, lovely food and good service. After an hour or so, there was a short discussion with regards to lunch venue, short because every newcomer to Antwerpen has to visit Het Elfde Gebod and that's where I took this photograph.
Subject: Onze Lieve Vrouew Kathedral spire (Cathedral of Our Lady)
Location: table outside at Het Elfde Gebod
Company: Kathryn (USA), Alison (Canada)
Two glasses of chilled white wine, some bread and a large slice of brie ... time flew.
I had an appointment at 4.30pm ... and for a rather stunning example of the multi-lingual abilities of Antwerpens click here and choose your language.
PINA are the people who assist immigrants with integration here in the city and I had had an idea for a project. I went back to take photographs today. Just by the way, they need volunteers ... I imagine it's a service run all over the world and they always need volunteers.
My idea wasn't one they had running and they're going to try implementing it. Let's see what happens but suffice to say, it's to do with me using my camera and this poem I can't link to on my own blog. You'll find it posted on 24 August - Poetry Thursday. Written by Mourid Barghouti, an extract ...
Can the earth contain
The cruelty of a mother making her coffee alone
On a Diaspora morning?
She wants to go to a planet away from the earth
Where all directions lead to the harbour of the bosom,
The gulf of two arms
That receive and know no farewells.
She wants airplanes to come back only.
Airports to be for those returning,
The planes to land and never leave again.
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.
Douglas Adams,
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
For dobermann .
Douglas Adams,
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
For dobermann .
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
A little more on Vegemite
Lisa asked what Vegemite tasted like and I thought a while and came up with savoury, salty and yeasty ... It's difficult to actually pull it out of my childhood and try and describe something that's been a part of my life forever.
I picked up my jar and read the label, then recalled Gert, Diede, Jason, Kagan and many other foreigners recoiling in horror after reading the ingredients list.
Yes ... so anyway, Vegemite contains:
yeast extract
salt
potassium
chloride
malt extract
colour (E150d)
Also contains: preservatives (sulphur dioxide), vegetable extract (onion), niacin, thiamine, riboglavin and folic acid.
You're so tempted, aren't you ...
You can read all about it here , and I mean ALL.
THE Vegemite Post
Sal , it's not an easy task ... photographing the creation of a Vegemite sandwich.There are those who will say I've sold out our Vegemite secrets for 5 minutes of fame and maybe they're right but I see it as a little evangelizing about Vegemite...
I would like to pretend that I eat Vegemite on a hearty brown grainy loaf of uncut bread but that would be a lie and anyway, it's easier to follow the application procedure on the white bread.
Application instructions are vital. Gert's parents would agree, having believed Raf when he told them they could eat it from a spoon ...no one can eat Vegemite from a spoon - not even Crocodile Dundee. It's so wrong that it should be written on the Vegemite label as a health warning.
No ... here's how it's done.
One selects the bread or toast.
Note: if choosing toast, a whole new field in the decision-making process opens up ...
- hot or cold toast
- butter heavily applied to hot toast and melted
- butter heavily applied to cold toast and solid.
This is important and does alter the entire taste experience.
In the photographs, you will see that I chose white bread and a hearty application of butter (margarine will not suffice as it's one chemical step away from plastic and isn't a strong enough compliment the Vegemite - people who say 'overpower the Vegemite' should be ignored, they are exaggerating ... just in case Jason the American reads this).After evenly applying the butter, you scoop out your first knife stroke of Vegemite. At no point should you apply Vegemite directly onto the bread. It tastes nasty without butter ... for me the butter is key to the experience.
People vary in Vegemite application ... as you will see, I took the light to medium approach on bread. This varies depending on a number of factors: - freshness of bread
- white or brown bread
- toast
- white or brown toast
- hot or cold toast.
Shamefully, in a moment of greed and nostalgia, I also applied a single layer of potato chips to my bread ... a favourite lunchtime filling from the days of my childhood.
A Vegemite sandwich can also be loaded with cheese and/or lettuce. The sky is the limit, it's really what you can digest at the end of day.
Bon appetite!
Vegemite, food of Kiwis (and Kings if only they knew about it)
For Sal , who has kept me on task with regard to posting on how to eat Vegemite.
Homesick for New Zealand
I was just lying on the bed daydreaming about being back in New Zealand ...For those who don't know, Belgium is pretty much the crossroads of Europe. When you're out on the motorways vehicles carry a country of origin tag and reading them is a novelty when you come from a smallish island nation at the bottom of the world.
There are Polish trucks, German, Dutch, Spanish, English Irish ... I've even seen Turkish trucks. European children can play registration plate games that New Zealand children can't even imagine while travelling the highways of home.
But homesickness ... I was lying on the bed with the sliding door open, enjoying the slight chill in the air, identifying the temperature as 'Dunedin around Easter time' ... such is the crazy upside-down life of a kiwi transpanted to the Northern Hemisphere. I experience the seasons in a complete reversal that is occasionally mind-boggling.But it wasn't only the chill in air that was taking me home, it was the roar of the traffic on motorways leading into and around Antwerpen at 8.30am.
Morning rush hour and the roar of it took me back to Tautuku Beach on those nights when the surf became a constant roar as opposed to a pounding surf ... and the longer I listened, the more I could move round the South Island of my country ... to my sister's house on top of the hill in Andersons Bay; Long Beach during a spring tide and so many other beaches I love and can hear in the noise of the traffic this morning.Sometimes I wonder about who I am now ...a woman who can live near the beach in one country without borders, or a woman who loves living somewhere close to the centre of Europe in terms of wandering through three different countries in a matter of hours.
Today I'm missing the beaches of home, the air and the people ...
And the photographs...?
The first is the beach behind Hokitika township, then Tomahawk Beach in Dunedin and finally the beach down at Taieri Mouth in Otago.
Immigrants to Belgium versus Belgian emigrants
Emigration rate up by 15pc in four years
The number of Belgians emigrating abroad has increased by 15 percent in the past four years, OECD figures have revealed. The OECD study found that 20,000 Belgians are leaving the country every year. In total, about 500,000 Belgians are believed to have moved abroad. A Leuven Catholic University academic said most people decide to leave for economic reasons. Despite the rising rate of emigration, however, many more Belgians stay at home in comparison with other nations.
I don't see the neo-nazi extreme right party publishing this when they write up: 1,000 new Polish workers every month
About 1,000 (temporary) jobs at Flemish companies are being taken up every month by expat Polish workers, government figures indicate. Since 1 June, the procedure for recruiting foreign workers from the new 10 EU member states have been simplified. Between 1 May and 31 July, a total of 3,086 work permits were issued in Flanders to nationals from the 10 new EU states. That is almost triple the amount in the same period last year (1,123).
Expatica .
The number of Belgians emigrating abroad has increased by 15 percent in the past four years, OECD figures have revealed. The OECD study found that 20,000 Belgians are leaving the country every year. In total, about 500,000 Belgians are believed to have moved abroad. A Leuven Catholic University academic said most people decide to leave for economic reasons. Despite the rising rate of emigration, however, many more Belgians stay at home in comparison with other nations.
I don't see the neo-nazi extreme right party publishing this when they write up: 1,000 new Polish workers every month
About 1,000 (temporary) jobs at Flemish companies are being taken up every month by expat Polish workers, government figures indicate. Since 1 June, the procedure for recruiting foreign workers from the new 10 EU member states have been simplified. Between 1 May and 31 July, a total of 3,086 work permits were issued in Flanders to nationals from the 10 new EU states. That is almost triple the amount in the same period last year (1,123).
Expatica .
Citizenship delays despite 'quicker' process
Expatica rounds up the news and writes it up in English.
An application for Belgian citizenship currently takes 18 months to be processed compared with six to nine months prior to the passing of the accelerated Belgian nationality law in March 2000.
An application for Belgian citizenship currently takes 18 months to be processed compared with six to nine months prior to the passing of the accelerated Belgian nationality law in March 2000.
Far-right suspects planned chaos, political murders in Belgium
It's the big story of the moment.
A total of 12 suspects are still being remanded in custody in a large-scale police investigation into planned attacks from the extreme-right in Belgium.
Ten of the initial 17 suspects were refused bail on Friday and police arrested another two suspects on Friday, both of whom were remanded in custody on Saturday.
The suspects were arrested on allegations they formed a neo-Nazi group which was planning to carry out violent attacks in Belgium to destabilise the nation.
The group of skinheads around the main suspect, Thomas B., a Belgian soldier from Buggenhout, was planning to plunge Belgium into chaos, by murdering various politicians.
A total of 12 suspects are still being remanded in custody in a large-scale police investigation into planned attacks from the extreme-right in Belgium.
Ten of the initial 17 suspects were refused bail on Friday and police arrested another two suspects on Friday, both of whom were remanded in custody on Saturday.
The suspects were arrested on allegations they formed a neo-Nazi group which was planning to carry out violent attacks in Belgium to destabilise the nation.
The group of skinheads around the main suspect, Thomas B., a Belgian soldier from Buggenhout, was planning to plunge Belgium into chaos, by murdering various politicians.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Peter Moore,Writer
I've written about Peter more than once here, just because I'm a big fan of his travel books and I think that everyone should read his book 'The Wrong Way Home' and that's just to start with ...
I just wandered over to catch up on his blog and discovered he had written a really nice post about Steve Irwin .
Nice because he talks of how Steve was viewed by those people who worked with him ... My dad is not an emotional man but he is devastated. He said it was like a terrorist bomb had gone off at the zoo. Everyone is crying and the media are camped out front getting ‘reaction’ from staff as they leave.
Dad liked Steve Irwin. He doesn’t like poseurs but with Steve he said that what you saw was what you got. He was exactly the same in real life as he was on television.
I just wandered over to catch up on his blog and discovered he had written a really nice post about Steve Irwin .
Nice because he talks of how Steve was viewed by those people who worked with him ... My dad is not an emotional man but he is devastated. He said it was like a terrorist bomb had gone off at the zoo. Everyone is crying and the media are camped out front getting ‘reaction’ from staff as they leave.
Dad liked Steve Irwin. He doesn’t like poseurs but with Steve he said that what you saw was what you got. He was exactly the same in real life as he was on television.
Paul Salopek, Journalist
Spain's womanwandering wrote with the news that Paul Salopek is out of prison.
The Editor and Publisher Journal wrote: U.S. journalist Paul Salopek was released Saturday from a prison in the war-torn Darfur region where he was held for more than a month on espionage charges, the Chicago Tribune reported on its Web site.
A judge in the North Darfur capital of el-Fasher released the Chicago Tribune journalist and his Chadian driver and interpreter after a 13-minute hearing.
"We are stopping the case and we are releasing you right now. And that is all," the judge said in English, the Tribune reported.
Bill Richardson, the governor of the U.S. state of New Mexico, had traveled to Sudan on Friday to meet with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and secure their release on humanitarian grounds.
You can read more about Paul here ... in a previous post.
The Editor and Publisher Journal wrote: U.S. journalist Paul Salopek was released Saturday from a prison in the war-torn Darfur region where he was held for more than a month on espionage charges, the Chicago Tribune reported on its Web site.
A judge in the North Darfur capital of el-Fasher released the Chicago Tribune journalist and his Chadian driver and interpreter after a 13-minute hearing.
"We are stopping the case and we are releasing you right now. And that is all," the judge said in English, the Tribune reported.
Bill Richardson, the governor of the U.S. state of New Mexico, had traveled to Sudan on Friday to meet with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and secure their release on humanitarian grounds.
You can read more about Paul here ... in a previous post.
Boris Johnson, Bounder?
Martin told me about a Boris Johnson Times Online article ... titled Bozzer the Bounder it's a small taste of Andrew Gimson's highly revealing biography about Boris' life, loves and disasters
Grimson writes, When I asked Boris Johnson if I could write his biography, he laughed for a long time before saying: “Such is my colossal vanity that I have no intention of trying to forbid you.”
At the time, in the summer of 2004, Boris’s star shone with amazing brightness. Reputable judges predicted he would be the next Conservative prime minister.
Later ... Boris had moved from complete agreement with the book to total disagreement. He began by sounding utterly confident and ended by sounding strangely vulnerable. It was a curious transformation but also, as I was to discover, a rather characteristic one.
Grimson writes, When I asked Boris Johnson if I could write his biography, he laughed for a long time before saying: “Such is my colossal vanity that I have no intention of trying to forbid you.”
At the time, in the summer of 2004, Boris’s star shone with amazing brightness. Reputable judges predicted he would be the next Conservative prime minister.
Later ... Boris had moved from complete agreement with the book to total disagreement. He began by sounding utterly confident and ended by sounding strangely vulnerable. It was a curious transformation but also, as I was to discover, a rather characteristic one.
Sony's General Manager ...'Turkish economy just like a rodeo'
Erkan had a link to an article and I loved how it described Turkey ...
Sony's Eurasia General Manager Mohsen Noohi has commented on wavering of the Turkish economy lately, saying "Turkey is just like a rodeo; it is a beautiful, exciting, and wonderful country, but every now and then, you fall. If you can't get up after falling, you'll have a hard time succeeding here."
Noohi went on to note that Sony saw the future in Turkey in promising, which is why the company wants to make long term investment in the country. Noohi also noted that new products and product categories would be introduced by Sony to the Turkish market in the near future, and that a "Vaio" brand of laptop, produced especially with the Turkish market in mind, would be introduced in November of this year.
Sony's Eurasia General Manager Mohsen Noohi has commented on wavering of the Turkish economy lately, saying "Turkey is just like a rodeo; it is a beautiful, exciting, and wonderful country, but every now and then, you fall. If you can't get up after falling, you'll have a hard time succeeding here."
Noohi went on to note that Sony saw the future in Turkey in promising, which is why the company wants to make long term investment in the country. Noohi also noted that new products and product categories would be introduced by Sony to the Turkish market in the near future, and that a "Vaio" brand of laptop, produced especially with the Turkish market in mind, would be introduced in November of this year.
An Antwerpen Tram
I was catching the tram into the city this morning and decided to photograph it while I waited ...Along came Guy, the tram driver who posed next to it for me.
I had never ridden the trams before moving to Antwerpen but they're a great way to get round the city, most particularly if you come from a part of the world where the traffic drives on the opposite side of the road.
Add to that the fact that Antwerpens have this 'certainty' about right of way when they're out there and I think it will take me some time to give up the trams and become a driver again.
So for 25euro per month, I have this pass that takes me all over the city riding the trams, buses and metro ...
Meanwhile it's a beautiful day here in Antwerpen, not too hot but a day full of sunshine.
Alles goed.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
A grand day out ...
I don't want to bore you but ... you know those sublime days when you're just deeply happy about being alive?
I just had one of those days ... yes another sublime day but really, it was so much better than I could have imagined it might be when I got up this morning.
I went through my beach photographs from yesterday and simply LOVED some of them and then put away 'happy things' and went off to take some photographs of Belgian politicians as a favour.
I had to catch the tram that goes under the river ...
Going under the river is something I've avoided since coming here. Maybe it's a throwover from growing up in a land where earthquakes are common, maybe I'm claustrophobic but catching a tram under a river that is deep enough to have a big cruise liner dock in the city, isn't my idea of a good time.
But the trip was fine and nothing catastrophic happened (imagine that). I found our meeting place easily. Gert has worked out how to direct me so that I arrive in these new places I've never been before.
Another day of bright sunshine meant that lining up 9 politicians, the Kathedral and a church way off to the left wasn't simple however I think it is done.
Amongst the group of bystanders was an interesting woman who had made many visits to Australia. She felt that I should use the foot tunnel under the river ... I wasn't convinced but I knew I wouldn't respect myself if I avoided it.
Well ... it was really quite marvellous. I took photographs too. I'll research it and post them because it opened around 1932, making it interesting in terms of world war two.
I came above ground at the Sunday antiques market and took photographs of interesting people and then strolled over to Het Elfde Gebod, my favourite pub here. I ordered a red wine, pulled out my book and read in the sun for a while.
THEN, as if all the rest wasn't enough, I walked to the tram via Conscience Plein and heard a band. A wonderful band and they sounded like New Zealanders or Australians while singing however 100 photographs later, when I asked if they'd like copies I learned that they are an Antwerpen group ... with one Finn and a dog.
They were delicious and I'll post some of the photographs with news of their next gig here in Antwerpen.
It was a grand day out ...
I just had one of those days ... yes another sublime day but really, it was so much better than I could have imagined it might be when I got up this morning.
I went through my beach photographs from yesterday and simply LOVED some of them and then put away 'happy things' and went off to take some photographs of Belgian politicians as a favour.
I had to catch the tram that goes under the river ...
Going under the river is something I've avoided since coming here. Maybe it's a throwover from growing up in a land where earthquakes are common, maybe I'm claustrophobic but catching a tram under a river that is deep enough to have a big cruise liner dock in the city, isn't my idea of a good time.
But the trip was fine and nothing catastrophic happened (imagine that). I found our meeting place easily. Gert has worked out how to direct me so that I arrive in these new places I've never been before.
Another day of bright sunshine meant that lining up 9 politicians, the Kathedral and a church way off to the left wasn't simple however I think it is done.
Amongst the group of bystanders was an interesting woman who had made many visits to Australia. She felt that I should use the foot tunnel under the river ... I wasn't convinced but I knew I wouldn't respect myself if I avoided it.
Well ... it was really quite marvellous. I took photographs too. I'll research it and post them because it opened around 1932, making it interesting in terms of world war two.
I came above ground at the Sunday antiques market and took photographs of interesting people and then strolled over to Het Elfde Gebod, my favourite pub here. I ordered a red wine, pulled out my book and read in the sun for a while.
THEN, as if all the rest wasn't enough, I walked to the tram via Conscience Plein and heard a band. A wonderful band and they sounded like New Zealanders or Australians while singing however 100 photographs later, when I asked if they'd like copies I learned that they are an Antwerpen group ... with one Finn and a dog.
They were delicious and I'll post some of the photographs with news of their next gig here in Antwerpen.
It was a grand day out ...
Free things to do in Brussels
Over at the other blog I'm maintaining for New Zealand expats in Belgium I just wrote up some news from one of our members ...
Joyce had stumbled across an interesting link that lists all you can do in Brussels for free.
Joyce had stumbled across an interesting link that lists all you can do in Brussels for free.
Friday, September 08, 2006
I love New Zealand ...
I'm sitting here in the sun, at Gert's relatively tidy desk ... the surface papers will be easy to pick up and put away. Andrea Bocelli is singing to me (sshhhh, that's how it seems as his voice surrounds me via the computer speakers) and I'm working on research for a delicious project that I'll tell you about next year when it all happens.
Anyway why do I love New Zealand today ...?
Well in the course of my research I ended up in the New Zealand Sheepdog Trial Association and it's superb. It explains all that they do, and for reasons that I probably can't explain I love that.
Sundays, I think it was Sundays, we couldn't help ourselves ... us townies would gather round the tv screen to listen as Jim Moira took us through the dog trials. There were some very naughty sheep involved at times and the dogs could be anything from superb through to useless. Jim described it all and we hung off his every word.
It's a nice memory and it's why I'm smiling about New Zealand at this moment in time.
(Note: the photograph was taken one day while I was sitting on Hunter's verandah down in Fiordland, New Zealand. I don't have a sheepdog photograph but it seemed like a post that required a dog photo ... these two were friends and delighted me as they shared the space with us.)
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Desks
I've been working at my desk for days and not really taking the time to tidy up afterwards.The solution ... well I moved over to Gert's desk and took over, again.
Shamed after viewing this photo which confirmed all I suspected ... So Many wrongs committed while colonising his space, I'm writing this from a pristine work space ...
All paper is gone, the surface is polished, there's now room to move and I'm resting mid-way through a similar treatment on my desk. Photographs won't be forthcoming because pre-cleaning my desk was too shameful. Who knew I'd collected that much paper and so much important-I-must-keep-that-in-view stuff.
Tot ziens until later.
Andrew Grice and Narcosphere
I was searching for a way to access Andrew Grice's articles without subscribing and found this project he's involved in called The Narcosphere
It's an interesting project. In the about section I read:
Veteran journalist Chris Lydon has a name for it: "the transformation."
A fundamental shift is underway in how politics and fundraising are practiced: from dependence on the financiers at the top levels of the economy to a more authentically democratic model of a wide base of support from below.
But the transformation is, still, too often blocked, or co-opted, by the dominant forces of the Commercial Media and the powerful interests they serve. The Commercial Media remains dependent on a single, top-down, and decaying, model of "advertising dollars" (and the corresponding targeting of upscale consumers), investors, and corporate ownership to survive. The resulting damage to democracy is evident to most people on earth.
... The Narcosphere - it appears online here is a participatory, online, forum, where readers and journalists come together to discuss, correct, add new information and relevant links, and debate the work of the journalists who publish on NarcoNews.com.
The Narcosphere is similar to other forums on the Internet that utilize a software named Scoop (Kuro5hin and The Daily Kos) are two of the more popular examples), but with some new twists.
They promise some interesting changes ... it's worth reading about if you're curious.
It's an interesting project. In the about section I read:
Veteran journalist Chris Lydon has a name for it: "the transformation."
A fundamental shift is underway in how politics and fundraising are practiced: from dependence on the financiers at the top levels of the economy to a more authentically democratic model of a wide base of support from below.
But the transformation is, still, too often blocked, or co-opted, by the dominant forces of the Commercial Media and the powerful interests they serve. The Commercial Media remains dependent on a single, top-down, and decaying, model of "advertising dollars" (and the corresponding targeting of upscale consumers), investors, and corporate ownership to survive. The resulting damage to democracy is evident to most people on earth.
... The Narcosphere - it appears online here is a participatory, online, forum, where readers and journalists come together to discuss, correct, add new information and relevant links, and debate the work of the journalists who publish on NarcoNews.com.
The Narcosphere is similar to other forums on the Internet that utilize a software named Scoop (Kuro5hin and The Daily Kos) are two of the more popular examples), but with some new twists.
They promise some interesting changes ... it's worth reading about if you're curious.
Tony Blair, Rupert's probable employee in 2007
I wrote of Tony Blair back in July and now I see it's all over the news as something new.
'I wrote of it' ... I mean, I passed on the Blair news found in The Independent Online 29 July 2006.
The media magnate Rupert Murdoch is expected to offer Tony Blair a senior role in his News Corporation empire when he stands down as Prime Minister.
Allies of Mr Blair insist he has made no decisions about his plans when he leaves Downing Street -- almost certainly next year. But some friends say a seat on the board of News Corp could tempt the outgoing Prime Minister, as it would dovetail neatly with the lucrative United States lecture circuit.
Mr Blair's popularity at home may be waning, but he remains big box office in America. His close relationship with Mr Murdoch will be highlighted tomorrow when he addresses the annual gathering of News Corp's executives and senior journalists from around the world.
'I wrote of it' ... I mean, I passed on the Blair news found in The Independent Online 29 July 2006.
The media magnate Rupert Murdoch is expected to offer Tony Blair a senior role in his News Corporation empire when he stands down as Prime Minister.
Allies of Mr Blair insist he has made no decisions about his plans when he leaves Downing Street -- almost certainly next year. But some friends say a seat on the board of News Corp could tempt the outgoing Prime Minister, as it would dovetail neatly with the lucrative United States lecture circuit.
Mr Blair's popularity at home may be waning, but he remains big box office in America. His close relationship with Mr Murdoch will be highlighted tomorrow when he addresses the annual gathering of News Corp's executives and senior journalists from around the world.
Poetry Thursday
Lynn over at Poetry Thursday writes: This week, Liz Elayne challenged us to use the color blue as the inspiration for a poem.
One of my favourite poems is titled Blue Vigour and was written by Anne Michaels. In the back of her poetry collection Anne writes: Before she became the highly acclaimed short-story writer, using the pen name Isak Dinesen, Karen Blixen emigrated from Denmark to Kenya where she ran a farm from 1913 to 1931. Her love and respect for the land and its people are documented in her paintings and memories.
For me, the poem Blue Vigour calls up memories of the movie of her life ... Out of Africa. It opens with:
I think, if you have lived through a war
or have made your home in a country
not your own, or if you've learned
to love one man,
then your life is a story.
Because so many of the poems I love are long, I've created a seperate poetry blog so you can find the rest of this poem there.
One of my favourite poems is titled Blue Vigour and was written by Anne Michaels. In the back of her poetry collection Anne writes: Before she became the highly acclaimed short-story writer, using the pen name Isak Dinesen, Karen Blixen emigrated from Denmark to Kenya where she ran a farm from 1913 to 1931. Her love and respect for the land and its people are documented in her paintings and memories.
For me, the poem Blue Vigour calls up memories of the movie of her life ... Out of Africa. It opens with:
I think, if you have lived through a war
or have made your home in a country
not your own, or if you've learned
to love one man,
then your life is a story.
Because so many of the poems I love are long, I've created a seperate poetry blog so you can find the rest of this poem there.
Pam and Rethinking History
Pam, from Nerd's Eye View and Blogher , is writing some interesting stuff these days.
I particularly loved this post , titled 'Rethinking History'. She opens with: For many years, my parents insisted they would never visit Germany. We're Jewish, and the history...well, you know. They've extended that ambivilence towards Austria, but since I married the Austrian, they wanted to see the homeland and have moderated their views a little. Time passes, opinions change, and the draw to see Vienna is undeniable.
I particularly loved this post , titled 'Rethinking History'. She opens with: For many years, my parents insisted they would never visit Germany. We're Jewish, and the history...well, you know. They've extended that ambivilence towards Austria, but since I married the Austrian, they wanted to see the homeland and have moderated their views a little. Time passes, opinions change, and the draw to see Vienna is undeniable.
What happens when Turkey can no longer turn the other cheek?
Reuters is running this story on the change of heart being experienced by Turks who are tired of the noises coming out of Europe.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Turks are warming towards Iran and cooling towards the United States and Europe, according to an opinion poll published on Wednesday that showed a deepening estrangement from the West in the NATO member.
The findings of the annual Transatlantic Trends survey appeared to reflect anger at U.S. policy in the Middle East and a growing sense that the European Union is not sincere about Turkey's membership bid.
Asked about the warmth of their feelings towards a range of countries, Turks gave the European Union 45 degrees on a 100-point thermometer scale and the United States 20. Iran registered 43 degrees.
The poll, conducted in mid-June, found that 54 percent of Turks still believe EU membership would be a good thing for their country, compared to 22 percent who said it would be bad and 18 percent who said neither bad nor good.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Turks are warming towards Iran and cooling towards the United States and Europe, according to an opinion poll published on Wednesday that showed a deepening estrangement from the West in the NATO member.
The findings of the annual Transatlantic Trends survey appeared to reflect anger at U.S. policy in the Middle East and a growing sense that the European Union is not sincere about Turkey's membership bid.
Asked about the warmth of their feelings towards a range of countries, Turks gave the European Union 45 degrees on a 100-point thermometer scale and the United States 20. Iran registered 43 degrees.
The poll, conducted in mid-June, found that 54 percent of Turks still believe EU membership would be a good thing for their country, compared to 22 percent who said it would be bad and 18 percent who said neither bad nor good.
Paul Kelly, Sing/Songwriter
I was searching for the lyrics of a Paul Kelly song, wanting to mock the dishonesty of EU and the ridiculous and hypocritical nature of its demands on Turkey however while searching I found this article written by Karen Ford about Paul Kelly for The Age back in February 2006.
Paul's an old favourite of mine and perhaps this extract from her article gives you an idea of why:To say that Paul Kelly's lyrics are merely about relationships is too simplistic and a bit of a cop-out. Kelly's work is about the self, the ego, our place in the world and the "dumb things" we do.
His writings locate, with intense precision, the nature of not only what it means to be an Australian, but also what it means to be a man, woman or child caught up in the modern world. There is beauty in pain, celebration in suffering and an honesty that cuts to the core.
In reading his work it is easy to agree with his sentiments about love, passion, loss, family, identity, betrayal, conceit and belonging. One can question how this man with simple, unaffected songs can know us and share our experiences. The answer is simple: Kelly is part of the human experience and thus articulates what is common to us all.
Kelly's lyrics are evocative, confronting and inspiring. Often embarrassing, always honest, his verse reminds us of Shakespeare's Fool, more wise than we give credit for, laying bare the universal qualities of the human condition wrapped up in music and folly.
Paul's an old favourite of mine and perhaps this extract from her article gives you an idea of why:To say that Paul Kelly's lyrics are merely about relationships is too simplistic and a bit of a cop-out. Kelly's work is about the self, the ego, our place in the world and the "dumb things" we do.
His writings locate, with intense precision, the nature of not only what it means to be an Australian, but also what it means to be a man, woman or child caught up in the modern world. There is beauty in pain, celebration in suffering and an honesty that cuts to the core.
In reading his work it is easy to agree with his sentiments about love, passion, loss, family, identity, betrayal, conceit and belonging. One can question how this man with simple, unaffected songs can know us and share our experiences. The answer is simple: Kelly is part of the human experience and thus articulates what is common to us all.
Kelly's lyrics are evocative, confronting and inspiring. Often embarrassing, always honest, his verse reminds us of Shakespeare's Fool, more wise than we give credit for, laying bare the universal qualities of the human condition wrapped up in music and folly.
The Editors Weblog
There's an interesting article on The Editors Weblog and it's titled Visual journalists spin their web .
It comes complete with links to sources at the bottom of the article and begins like this:
Just this month, I stumbled upon the beginnings of a truly global web community all about infographics. Blogs, forums, tips, critiques. And suddenly, I don’t know where to start with the one thing I’ve been craving for the past 10 years.
This web network is significant. It indicates awareness amongst infographic artists and editors that they are essential players in the future of the news product, and that visual journalism itself is a craft that you can learn.
Thanks Erkan .
It comes complete with links to sources at the bottom of the article and begins like this:
Just this month, I stumbled upon the beginnings of a truly global web community all about infographics. Blogs, forums, tips, critiques. And suddenly, I don’t know where to start with the one thing I’ve been craving for the past 10 years.
This web network is significant. It indicates awareness amongst infographic artists and editors that they are essential players in the future of the news product, and that visual journalism itself is a craft that you can learn.
Thanks Erkan .
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Thank you, President Bush by Paulo Coelho, 2003
I loved paris parfait's post about Paulo Coelho's open letter of praise for President Bush written back in 2003. I went searching and found the letter here .
Some excerpts:
Thank you, great leader George W. Bush.
Thank you for revealing to the world the gulf that exists between the decisions made by those in power and the wishes of the people. Thank you for making it clear that neither José MarÃa Aznar nor Tony Blair give the slightest weight to or show the slightest respect for the votes they received. Aznar is perfectly capable of ignoring the fact that 90% of Spaniards are against the war, and Blair is unmoved by the largest public demonstration to take place in England in the last thirty years.
Thank you for making it necessary for Tony Blair to go to the British parliament with a fabricated dossier written by a student ten years ago, and present this as ‘damning evidence collected by the British Secret Service’.
Thank you for allowing Colin Powell to make a complete fool of himself by showing the UN Security Council photos which, one week later, were publicly challenged by Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector in Iraq.
Thank you too, because, after all your efforts to promote war, the normally divided Arab nations were, for the first time, at their meeting in Cairo during the last week in February, unanimous in their condemnation of any invasion.
Thank you for ignoring us, for marginalising all those who oppose your decision, because the future of the Earth belongs to the excluded.
Now that there seems no way of silencing the drums of war, I would like to say, as an ancient European king said to an invader: ‘May your morning be a beautiful one, may the sun shine on your soldiers’ armour, for in the afternoon, I will defeat you.’
So, enjoy your morning and whatever glory it may yet bring you.
Thank you for not listening to us and not taking us seriously, but know that we are listening to you and that we will not forget your words.
Thank you, great leader George W. Bush.
Thank you very much.
Some excerpts:
Thank you, great leader George W. Bush.
Thank you for revealing to the world the gulf that exists between the decisions made by those in power and the wishes of the people. Thank you for making it clear that neither José MarÃa Aznar nor Tony Blair give the slightest weight to or show the slightest respect for the votes they received. Aznar is perfectly capable of ignoring the fact that 90% of Spaniards are against the war, and Blair is unmoved by the largest public demonstration to take place in England in the last thirty years.
Thank you for making it necessary for Tony Blair to go to the British parliament with a fabricated dossier written by a student ten years ago, and present this as ‘damning evidence collected by the British Secret Service’.
Thank you for allowing Colin Powell to make a complete fool of himself by showing the UN Security Council photos which, one week later, were publicly challenged by Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector in Iraq.
Thank you too, because, after all your efforts to promote war, the normally divided Arab nations were, for the first time, at their meeting in Cairo during the last week in February, unanimous in their condemnation of any invasion.
Thank you for ignoring us, for marginalising all those who oppose your decision, because the future of the Earth belongs to the excluded.
Now that there seems no way of silencing the drums of war, I would like to say, as an ancient European king said to an invader: ‘May your morning be a beautiful one, may the sun shine on your soldiers’ armour, for in the afternoon, I will defeat you.’
So, enjoy your morning and whatever glory it may yet bring you.
Thank you for not listening to us and not taking us seriously, but know that we are listening to you and that we will not forget your words.
Thank you, great leader George W. Bush.
Thank you very much.
The Media Education Foundation
The Media Education Foundation produces and distributes video documentaries to encourage critical thinking and debate about the relationship between media ownership, commercial media content, and the democratic demand for free flows of information, diverse representations of ideas and people, and informed citizen participation.
Democracy Under Threat
The business of media is overwhelming the business of democracy, as a narrowing range of private media conglomerates shape a widening range of public space and discourse. From our schools to our streets, from politics and policy-making to mainstream media coverage of both, a reductive market logic has the logical demand in any meaningful democracy for informed discussion, deliberation and debate.
MEF's Mission
The mission of the Media Education Foundation (MEF) is to answer the challenge posed by the radical and accelerating corporate threat to democracy. Since its founding in 1991 by University of Massachusetts Communication professor and media scholar Sut Jhally, MEF has grown to become the nation's leading producer and distributor of educational videos designed to inspire students and others to reflect critically on the structure of the media industry and the content it produces.
Democracy Under Threat
The business of media is overwhelming the business of democracy, as a narrowing range of private media conglomerates shape a widening range of public space and discourse. From our schools to our streets, from politics and policy-making to mainstream media coverage of both, a reductive market logic has the logical demand in any meaningful democracy for informed discussion, deliberation and debate.
MEF's Mission
The mission of the Media Education Foundation (MEF) is to answer the challenge posed by the radical and accelerating corporate threat to democracy. Since its founding in 1991 by University of Massachusetts Communication professor and media scholar Sut Jhally, MEF has grown to become the nation's leading producer and distributor of educational videos designed to inspire students and others to reflect critically on the structure of the media industry and the content it produces.
Bedrijvenloket
Yesterday I had my first appointment with Bedrijvenloket or the Company Desk.
It's the section of city administration where all companies ... from the self-employed through to the biggest companies in the City, as well as companies interested in investing in the city ... go for information.
The service I visited was originally set up to help people of non-Belgian origin begin their own business ventures here and was known as the Adviesbureau Allochtoon Ondernemen or the Advisory office for non-native entrepreneurs. These days it's an integrated service known as Bedrijvenloket and provides information an assistance for both Belgians and non-Belgians.
I loved it. It seems like a superb way of making the city more successful ... assisting future tax payers achieve their dreams.
And so this part of the story begins ...
It's the section of city administration where all companies ... from the self-employed through to the biggest companies in the City, as well as companies interested in investing in the city ... go for information.
The service I visited was originally set up to help people of non-Belgian origin begin their own business ventures here and was known as the Adviesbureau Allochtoon Ondernemen or the Advisory office for non-native entrepreneurs. These days it's an integrated service known as Bedrijvenloket and provides information an assistance for both Belgians and non-Belgians.
I loved it. It seems like a superb way of making the city more successful ... assisting future tax payers achieve their dreams.
And so this part of the story begins ...
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Paul Salopek and Spain's wanderingwoman
Wanderingwoman in Spain sent this link to the Chicago Tribune's stories on Paul Salopek, the Tribune correspondent imprisoned in a Sudanese jail. Pro-government forces detained him while he was on a freelance assignment for National Geographic magazine.
Not only that but she has also written this delicious post titled Running away to Wales - Hay on Wye.
Not only that but she has also written this delicious post titled Running away to Wales - Hay on Wye.
Monday, September 04, 2006
An article on the importance of bringing Turkey into the EU
The Telegraph has printed an interesting article titled Turkey could be a beacon to the Islamic world: that's why it must be admitted to the EU .
It's worth reading if you're not sure of the why of Turkey joining.
Thanks Erkan .
It's worth reading if you're not sure of the why of Turkey joining.
Thanks Erkan .
Antwerpen Wine Tasting
Puerta del Sol is having an open door day here in Antwerpen this weekend ... !!!
If you like wine ... even better if you like Spanish wine and a place to buy Spanish food then pop in and meet Guy Voets.
I do love his wine tasting days ... he travels to Spain to seek out the best wines for Belgium and all one then has to do is turn up and taste.
Why am I passing this on?
No, he's not paying me, he doesn't even know that I'm doing it but his prices are good and his wines are simply delicious.
A recommend from the wine child ...Castelo de Medina's Verdejo.
It's pale in colour, has a strong aroma witha little citrus. Made with white ripe fruit, it has exotic touches of pineapple and passionfruit, with a little spiciness somehow.
It's stunning chilled should summer ever return.
If you like wine ... even better if you like Spanish wine and a place to buy Spanish food then pop in and meet Guy Voets.
I do love his wine tasting days ... he travels to Spain to seek out the best wines for Belgium and all one then has to do is turn up and taste.
Why am I passing this on?
No, he's not paying me, he doesn't even know that I'm doing it but his prices are good and his wines are simply delicious.
A recommend from the wine child ...Castelo de Medina's Verdejo.
It's pale in colour, has a strong aroma witha little citrus. Made with white ripe fruit, it has exotic touches of pineapple and passionfruit, with a little spiciness somehow.
It's stunning chilled should summer ever return.
Steve Irwin, Naturalist
I imagine most people know that Steve Irwin, the Australian naturalist and television star was killed by a Stingray in Australian waters on Monday but here's a link to the story on ABC .
World famous wildlife warrior Steve Irwin has died in a freak accident on the Great Barrier Reef, killed by a stingray barb which pierced his chest.
Friends believe the Crocodile Hunter, 44, may have died instantly when struck by the stingray while filming a sequence for his eight-year-old daughter Bindi's new TV series.
In talking of himself and his impact back home he said, ... "When I see what's happened all over the world, they're looking at me as this very popular, wildlife warrior Australian bloke," he said.
"And yet back here in my own country, some people find me a little bit embarrassing.
"You know, there's this... they kind of cringe, you know, 'cause I'm coming out with 'Crikey' and 'Look at this beauty'.
"Just say what you're gonna say, mate. You know, is it a cultural cringe? Is it, they actually see a little bit of themselves when they see me, and they find that a little embarrassing?
"I'm fair dinkum, like kangaroos and Land Cruisers, winged keels and bloody flies! I think we've lost all that. I think we've all become very, sort of, money people."
World famous wildlife warrior Steve Irwin has died in a freak accident on the Great Barrier Reef, killed by a stingray barb which pierced his chest.
Friends believe the Crocodile Hunter, 44, may have died instantly when struck by the stingray while filming a sequence for his eight-year-old daughter Bindi's new TV series.
In talking of himself and his impact back home he said, ... "When I see what's happened all over the world, they're looking at me as this very popular, wildlife warrior Australian bloke," he said.
"And yet back here in my own country, some people find me a little bit embarrassing.
"You know, there's this... they kind of cringe, you know, 'cause I'm coming out with 'Crikey' and 'Look at this beauty'.
"Just say what you're gonna say, mate. You know, is it a cultural cringe? Is it, they actually see a little bit of themselves when they see me, and they find that a little embarrassing?
"I'm fair dinkum, like kangaroos and Land Cruisers, winged keels and bloody flies! I think we've lost all that. I think we've all become very, sort of, money people."
Chick Lit is Hurting America ...
I found this interesting article over on Dig, Boston's Weekly .
Last October, in Harper’s Magazine, Lewis Lapham published an article called “We Now Live in a Fascist State.” In it, he discusses the different ways nations, including the US, oppress their people.
... The truth is that chick lit is bad for America because it’s bad for ambitious, literary writers, male or female. And that means it’s bad for all of us. As America increasingly devalues intellectual rigor, education and compassion, it becomes harder and harder to find a good book.
And believe me—the ex-fiction editor—it’s not because they’re not out there. It’s because the market is saturated by bad writers claiming to rep for all women, crowding the bookshelves, making sure their one marginal, vapid story is produced ten million times over, like some pretty pink version of hell.
Thanks Jessa .
Last October, in Harper’s Magazine, Lewis Lapham published an article called “We Now Live in a Fascist State.” In it, he discusses the different ways nations, including the US, oppress their people.
... The truth is that chick lit is bad for America because it’s bad for ambitious, literary writers, male or female. And that means it’s bad for all of us. As America increasingly devalues intellectual rigor, education and compassion, it becomes harder and harder to find a good book.
And believe me—the ex-fiction editor—it’s not because they’re not out there. It’s because the market is saturated by bad writers claiming to rep for all women, crowding the bookshelves, making sure their one marginal, vapid story is produced ten million times over, like some pretty pink version of hell.
Thanks Jessa .
A little of this, a little of that
It's been a busy weekend ...
Friday night, and I've already written of the Marlene Dietrich play we saw at Fakkelteater in Antwerpen.
Saturday and I was out the door by 9am, walking 6kms while trying to capture the reality of 'attack dog games'. I did a few dog and owner 'portraits' out in the field afterwards ... just for fun, and met some really interesting Belgians.
I had no idea the sport existed and was fascinated by those who participated ... expecting only police dog owners, I discovered there were many everyday people who owned dogs who lived with cats at home. The attack aspect is limited to 'exercises' and the successful attack dog is one who stops attacking on command.
Sunday and we were out at 8.45am, there was this breakfast meeting. More interesting people and I was seated next to a newspaper photographer ... and so we talked, as you do.
He has a website and has been using digital cameras for 6 years ... beginning back in the days when the cameras were the price of a small car.
Lunchtime found us driving to Feluy - past Brussels, it's about 100kms from Antwerpen. Carine and Rudy are Belgians who recently bought a home back in New Zealand and they were having one last bbq.
Of course, there were all kinds of interesting people, many French speakers although being Belgian they were multi-lingual and English was there on the list of languages they spoke.
Today I'm off to Brussels and tomorrow I have my first appointment with Hakan, my new business adviser. It's a little busy just at the moment.
Tot ziens.
Friday night, and I've already written of the Marlene Dietrich play we saw at Fakkelteater in Antwerpen.
Saturday and I was out the door by 9am, walking 6kms while trying to capture the reality of 'attack dog games'. I did a few dog and owner 'portraits' out in the field afterwards ... just for fun, and met some really interesting Belgians.
I had no idea the sport existed and was fascinated by those who participated ... expecting only police dog owners, I discovered there were many everyday people who owned dogs who lived with cats at home. The attack aspect is limited to 'exercises' and the successful attack dog is one who stops attacking on command.
Sunday and we were out at 8.45am, there was this breakfast meeting. More interesting people and I was seated next to a newspaper photographer ... and so we talked, as you do.
He has a website and has been using digital cameras for 6 years ... beginning back in the days when the cameras were the price of a small car.
Lunchtime found us driving to Feluy - past Brussels, it's about 100kms from Antwerpen. Carine and Rudy are Belgians who recently bought a home back in New Zealand and they were having one last bbq.
Of course, there were all kinds of interesting people, many French speakers although being Belgian they were multi-lingual and English was there on the list of languages they spoke.
Today I'm off to Brussels and tomorrow I have my first appointment with Hakan, my new business adviser. It's a little busy just at the moment.
Tot ziens.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Leah Thys as Marlene Dietrich
I'm just in from a stunning evening ...
Gert and I wandered along to the Fakkelteater (Torch Theatre), Rode Zaal Hoogstraat 12 in Antwerpen and sat through Leah Thys superb performance in the play simply titled Marlene.
Most of the performance used language beyond my Nederlands 1.2 but it didn't matter, Leah was stunning. She performed in Dutch, German and beautiful English ... oh how I enjoyed those small English moments and as the play went on she became Marlene ... seemed possessed, taking our endless standing ovation with languid grace worthy of Ms Dietrich.
The play opened with Marlene's arrival backstage pre-performance and we watched her work with her assistant, despair alone, sing a little, slip into something silky for an interview with the New York Times and almost fall apart as she readied herself to sing.
And then she sang and one hour into the performance she was no longer Leah Thys.
Tonight was opening night and the theatre was full however you could have heard a pin drop during the performance ... an experience I've never had when socialising in this special Belgian city.
The play is running until 24 September and it's really worth seeing.
(Note: avoid the balcony seats at all costs, unless you're 6ft+ - at 5foot 7in, my feet didn't quite touch the floor and it made for a uncomfortable time).
Gert and I wandered along to the Fakkelteater (Torch Theatre), Rode Zaal Hoogstraat 12 in Antwerpen and sat through Leah Thys superb performance in the play simply titled Marlene.
Most of the performance used language beyond my Nederlands 1.2 but it didn't matter, Leah was stunning. She performed in Dutch, German and beautiful English ... oh how I enjoyed those small English moments and as the play went on she became Marlene ... seemed possessed, taking our endless standing ovation with languid grace worthy of Ms Dietrich.
The play opened with Marlene's arrival backstage pre-performance and we watched her work with her assistant, despair alone, sing a little, slip into something silky for an interview with the New York Times and almost fall apart as she readied herself to sing.
And then she sang and one hour into the performance she was no longer Leah Thys.
Tonight was opening night and the theatre was full however you could have heard a pin drop during the performance ... an experience I've never had when socialising in this special Belgian city.
The play is running until 24 September and it's really worth seeing.
(Note: avoid the balcony seats at all costs, unless you're 6ft+ - at 5foot 7in, my feet didn't quite touch the floor and it made for a uncomfortable time).
Friday, September 01, 2006
Naguib Mahfouz, Writer
Erkan finds the best stuff ...
Today I noticed he had posted a link to an article on Naguib Mahfouz, Nobel Prize winner for Literature and so I wandered over to read it.
Lee Smith has written an article titled Remembering one of Egypt's first great novelists on Slate.com.
And who can resist an article that begins I met him in December. He was at the back of a bar in a Cairo hotel on the Nile, and in the orange glow of the dark room he pressed his eyelids together like a cat dozing in the sun. He'd fallen at home earlier in the day, and he seemed fragile.
Today I noticed he had posted a link to an article on Naguib Mahfouz, Nobel Prize winner for Literature and so I wandered over to read it.
Lee Smith has written an article titled Remembering one of Egypt's first great novelists on Slate.com.
And who can resist an article that begins I met him in December. He was at the back of a bar in a Cairo hotel on the Nile, and in the orange glow of the dark room he pressed his eyelids together like a cat dozing in the sun. He'd fallen at home earlier in the day, and he seemed fragile.
Robert Fisk, Journalist
Robert Fisk, Middle East correspondent of The Independent, is the author of Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War (London: André Deutsch, 1990).
He holds numerous awards for journalism, including two Amnesty International UK Press Awards and seven British International Journalist of the Year awards.
His most recent book is The Great War for Civilisation: the Conquest of the Middle East, published by 4th Estate on 3 October, 2005.
You can find more of his articles here .
He holds numerous awards for journalism, including two Amnesty International UK Press Awards and seven British International Journalist of the Year awards.
His most recent book is The Great War for Civilisation: the Conquest of the Middle East, published by 4th Estate on 3 October, 2005.
You can find more of his articles here .
"I had to make myself available to the possibilities that would move me along toward an honorable goal, whatever that is. Whether it's going to be your career, whether it's going to be your relationship or whatever, and the way that I did it was by, I tried to make myself vulnerable, intentionally vulnerable.
Physically, and as much as possible, emotionally — because that leaves you open to the delight and the magic of possibility. If you fear not, if you're too comfortable, if you've made yourself invulnerable, you've built sort of, you know, a comfortable blockade or palisade around you, I think you're going to miss out on some of these possibilities that float by, that other people may attribute to serendipity, but may or may not be serendipitous. ...
"So my parting advice would be, make yourself vulnerable to change, to discomfort, to the unexpected. And in fact, embrace it. You'll find that you may not always get what you're looking for, but in the end, you'll look back and see that everything eventually adds up to something."
Paul Salopek
Journalist
Physically, and as much as possible, emotionally — because that leaves you open to the delight and the magic of possibility. If you fear not, if you're too comfortable, if you've made yourself invulnerable, you've built sort of, you know, a comfortable blockade or palisade around you, I think you're going to miss out on some of these possibilities that float by, that other people may attribute to serendipity, but may or may not be serendipitous. ...
"So my parting advice would be, make yourself vulnerable to change, to discomfort, to the unexpected. And in fact, embrace it. You'll find that you may not always get what you're looking for, but in the end, you'll look back and see that everything eventually adds up to something."
Paul Salopek
Journalist
Paul Salopek, Journalist in Prison
"It's not acclaim, it's not money ... [It's] just the act of moving through the world in the way a storyteller does, where the thing you're out there getting, what grabs you, what gets you, what grabs you in the gut, is saying, 'Aha, there's a story unfolding in front of me, and I can tell it.' It's almost a shamanistic sort of power. So that's what rings my bell. The accolades and everything else are great. I'm delighted, I'm honored, I'm humbled, I'm flattered, but I did not get into this business to win Pulitzers or be a global correspondent, or XYZ."
Paul Salopek
Ken Armstrong at the Seattle Times writes about Paul Salopek : He doesn't write for awards. He doesn't promote himself. He doesn't tag along with other journalists. He goes his own way.
Last year I asked Paul to come to Seattle and speak at a journalism conference. He said he couldn't, because he gets stage fright. Talking to large groups of people terrifies him.
He isn't fearless, or devoid of ego, or any of that. But when it comes to getting a story, he doesn't let fear dictate. I've had my chances to do the kind of work Paul does — and I blinked. I didn't want to endure the hardship and peril.
Paul is a decent man, humble and humbling, who finds time on his travels to e-mail colleagues, saying how much he likes whatever story they have written. He has won two Pulitzers. I tell you that not because it matters much to him or me, but because an editor will make me do it anyway, because that's the way it is.
Paul, who is 44 and married, was arrested Aug. 6 in Sudan, with his driver, Idriss Abdulrahman Anu, and interpreter, Suleiman Abaker, both from Chad. The charges against Paul include espionage and disseminating false news. A Slovenian writer who faced the same charges was sentenced this month to two years in prison.
Paul Salopek
Ken Armstrong at the Seattle Times writes about Paul Salopek : He doesn't write for awards. He doesn't promote himself. He doesn't tag along with other journalists. He goes his own way.
Last year I asked Paul to come to Seattle and speak at a journalism conference. He said he couldn't, because he gets stage fright. Talking to large groups of people terrifies him.
He isn't fearless, or devoid of ego, or any of that. But when it comes to getting a story, he doesn't let fear dictate. I've had my chances to do the kind of work Paul does — and I blinked. I didn't want to endure the hardship and peril.
Paul is a decent man, humble and humbling, who finds time on his travels to e-mail colleagues, saying how much he likes whatever story they have written. He has won two Pulitzers. I tell you that not because it matters much to him or me, but because an editor will make me do it anyway, because that's the way it is.
Paul, who is 44 and married, was arrested Aug. 6 in Sudan, with his driver, Idriss Abdulrahman Anu, and interpreter, Suleiman Abaker, both from Chad. The charges against Paul include espionage and disseminating false news. A Slovenian writer who faced the same charges was sentenced this month to two years in prison.
Legal and Loving It
Now that I'm a legalised resident, Antwerpen is opening her doors to me ... and hidden behind those doors were marvellous things.
The first thing I discovered was that as soon as I held a residency permit, I no longer had to pay each time I took guests to any of the city-owned museums. Rubens House is now free for me every time and as the visit count is up around 5, I'm happy.
Actually it's an interesting place to visit and then revisit again and again, and is almost next door to my favourite secondhand bookshop - De Slegte.
Now that I'm married to a Belgian, my life has changed yet again. After a long period of barely existing, paperwork approvals suddenly sped up, stunning me. When signing into 'the system' it was discovered I already existed ... I had a number and they knew where I lived.
Now in the past this would have horrified me but a year in the no-mans land of expat/immigrant/trailing spouse was enough to break my romantic idea of being without a country ... just quietly, it's a very complicated way to live.
Antwerpen city takes care of those it lets in, or more specifically The Business Information Desk of the City of Antwerp takes care of those who need to start their own business here in the city and today I emailed them to make an appointment.
And so it begins ... the next stage of my odd unplanned life here in Europe.
The first thing I discovered was that as soon as I held a residency permit, I no longer had to pay each time I took guests to any of the city-owned museums. Rubens House is now free for me every time and as the visit count is up around 5, I'm happy.
Actually it's an interesting place to visit and then revisit again and again, and is almost next door to my favourite secondhand bookshop - De Slegte.
Now that I'm married to a Belgian, my life has changed yet again. After a long period of barely existing, paperwork approvals suddenly sped up, stunning me. When signing into 'the system' it was discovered I already existed ... I had a number and they knew where I lived.
Now in the past this would have horrified me but a year in the no-mans land of expat/immigrant/trailing spouse was enough to break my romantic idea of being without a country ... just quietly, it's a very complicated way to live.
Antwerpen city takes care of those it lets in, or more specifically The Business Information Desk of the City of Antwerp takes care of those who need to start their own business here in the city and today I emailed them to make an appointment.
And so it begins ... the next stage of my odd unplanned life here in Europe.
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