Happy birthday sis ! And thanks for healing my knee yesterday. I went to visit and hand over the present, sat down in the sofa and crack ! Something clicked and my knee felt good again. Yeah, okay, so my sister didn't exactly heal it, but still, that sofa rules.
Song of the week : "Bam Thwok" The Pixies
Oldie of the week : "Down To The Well" The Pixies
Last seen movie : "Birthday Girl" : British bank-clerk can't find a wife in the usual spots (clubs, pubs, on the street ...), so decides to start writing with a russian "bride to be". When she comes over, she's not quite like he thought she'd be (can't speak english etc), so he's having doubts - the bride being Nicole Kidman (in some kind of skinny goth chick outfit and make-up) would ease my doubts. Quickly things start to go wrong when two russian friends of her come over. Nothing is what it seems anymore.
"The Salton Sea" : dark and moody thriller starring Val Kilmer as a jazz-musician or a meth-junkie ? You are never sure what everything's about until the very end. Good guys turn bad, bad guys suddenly help out and most of the characters are just tagging along unable to change the direction their live is taking. Well acted, deeply scarring and genuinely touching. Best late night movie I've seen recently, but I'm afraid it's not for everyone and won't be as good the second time around.
"Dude, Where's My Car ?" : Could've been good. Two actors specialising in playing pot-smoking losers in a movie combining pot, chicks, aliens and forgotten nights out. It contains some mildly funny scenes and one big laugh. Bummer, that's just not good enough. If this kind of movie is something for you, I warmheartly recommend both "Bill & Ted" movies : first their "excellent adventure", followed by their "bogus journey". Keanu Reeves doing what he can do best (play a braindead surferdude), rockmusic, chicks and death himself. Extremely funny.
Doing this week : Rock Werchter is around the corner and only 3 days away. The Cure, Monster Magnet, Korn, Metallica, Lenny Kravitz, Lamb, The Pixies, Placebo and David Bowie to name a few.

Editorial - 26 June 2004

I might have mentioned before I used to skate. Picked it up when everyone was still skating the little narrow boards. When a friend of mine came back from a few years living in america - we were both around 11 I think - he brought home one of the bigger boards everyone uses since the late eighties. A little while later I got one too and we "infected" some other friends and skated all the way though high school, annoying some teachers in the process. I loved it back then, thought I'd skate forever. Hell, at that time in life everything seems forever. Girlfriends, love, life, youth ...
But it wasn't forever as I started college and didn't have the time or place to skate during the week. After a while a few of us started again, but it became very clear that I somehow hurt my knee to an extent that it was on the verge of collapsing. I probably stopped just in time before it got too bad. Now I only have to endure some bad days or moments from time to time. Like today. My knee is kinda killing me.

Editorial - 22 June 2004

Let's talk about the joke copy-controlled cd's in fact are. After numerous reports in the media about these so-called cd's - as they are not made according to the cd-standards developed by Philips, they can not be called cd's) - and friends of mine who will not buy any cd with the "copy-controlled" label on it because most of the times those things will not play in car-stereos, your dvd-player (if that's your cd-player in your entertainmentsystem) or some computers (disc always contain windows-software, seldom Apple-soft), or they skip half the time when played in your old but trusty cd-player. Is that fair use ? You buy something in the store and it doesn't work. There have been things returned for less but when you try to return the cd the shop says you opened the thing. Yeah sure brainiac, that's how I found out the damn things doesn't work !
Now I have always been buying cd's, faithfully following release after release from my favourite bands, sometimes even buying the singles for the extra songs. Recently this has diminished because I started collecting dvd's, not because I started copying cd's. Hell no, as I only buy the more alternative stuff, I wanna support those bands. That's why it seriously pisses me off that the recordcompanies are always complaining only the copying hurts their sales. NO, IT DOESN'T. You guys keep throwing more and more stuff towards kids and adults (cd's, dvd's, games, cellphones ...) and then look surprised when we reorganise the amounts to spend on each category or when we shift our preferences. On the one hand companies are complaining cd-sales are dropping and on the other hand they're celebrating the steep rise of dvd-sales. Well, duhu !
All the good people are hurt by these new technologies, stopping them from playing a copy of the bought cd's in their car (in order not to damage the original discs which still happens too often) and who's bypassing this ? The more technologically savvy geeks and nerds who crack the protections (sometimes even with a simple black marker). As of such I now have a copy of the new Beastie Boys album (To The 5 Burroughs) and the first Velvet Revolver (funny enough titled Contraband) to be played in my carstereo whenever I want. And what special tools did I use ? None, I inserted the disc in my computer and it opened Windows Mediaplayer 9 which copied the thing immediately. Does this make me a hacker ? I really think not. Is the copyprotection used on those cd's actually worth the hassle ? I strongly doubt it. And you ?

Editorial - 21 June 2004

You may have noticed recently that the movie-reviews are way down in the deepest low they have ever been on this site. I have almost no time to do at least two a day to catch up and I have already forgotten some which will make writing the short review all the more difficult. That's why I am seriously cutting down my movie-intake. The videotapes are piling up again.
Song of the week : -----
Oldie of the week : -----
Last seen movie : "When The Party's Over" : Marketed as an early Sandra Bullock movie I bought this DVD for a fiver. Cheapish entertainment for a late night ? Yup. The movie's in fact based around two major characters (Rae Dawn Chong and Sandra Bullock) who live together with some friends. Growning up from early twenties to early thirties changes the relationships between those people. Some for bad, some for good. As stated, late night entertainment. Not everyone's acting at the same level, there are some obvious cuts in the story and things don't always look all that logical, but it's not too bad for only five bucks. Sandra alone is worth more.
Doing this week : Get a haircut, do some cleaning in the weekend and test the tents which will be used next weekend for the Rock Werchter festival at this campingsite.

Editorial - 15 June 2004

Just had myself a very productive meeting with our friends in Brittain. Seems some issues we are having updating the system are being handled and a lot of others can be handled pretty quick if we pull all resources together in a week and update ourselves crazy. All international webmasters together. A nerdfest as my boss calls it.
Song of the week : "Ch-Ch-Check It Out" Beastie Boys
Oldie of the week : "Georgia On My Mind" Ray Charles
Last seen movie : "Pitch Black" : Great little scifi B-movie which started Vin Diesel's career. As a prisoner on a cargoship, he's the one everyone fears most when they crashland on a desertplanet (looks like Tatooine). Until they meet the real evil on the planet and have to start trusting eachother. With his eyes adapted so he can look during the night, he's their only chance out.
Thoroughly enjoyable, but sadly overlooked by many upon release and now followed by a big blockbuster extravanganza which will no doubt fuck up all that was good about this movie.
"The Day After Tomorrow" : newest bigbudget extravaganza from Ronald Emmerich, director of previous blockbuster(-efforts) "Independence Day" and "Godzilla". With a slightly better acting cast than usual and by dropping the aliens and monsters for a more reality based danger - mother nature : weathercharts never looked so menacing - this could've been his best effort yet. I'm not sure he succeeded. Everything looks better, but the narrational flow doesn't appear to be going as smooth as it should. Acting seems a bit over the top at times and understated the in the next minute. But setting these remarks aside it's an incredible ride seen bigscreen at your local cinemaplex.
Doing this week : Uploading the new vouchers into the live-system. Sounds like something only people in the Sian mountains of Asia understand ? Nevermind then, don't worry your pretty little head.

Editorial - 13 June 2004

I met up with my math-teacher today. Bumped into him in a grocery-store around noon. Kinda nice as he was the only one during high-school who gave me extra high grades for math - grades I deserved by the way - after being flunked by the previous teacher who hated teaching me because he couldn't get along with my dad - who worked at the same school.
Sad part is he had bad news. He just went to the funeral of a girl who was in my year and who died of cancer last tuesday. I knew she was sick, but in the end everything went ultrafast. It's quite a shock to hear such news when you're supposed to be too young to think about dying. I still remember talking with her during recess, or when she came to see her younger brother skate - who hung out with us at the time. She was friendly, beautiful - maybe a bit snobbish about it like all teenage girls who know they're beautiful in high school - and fun to talk to. I never considered us friends or something like it, but I still walked around slightly shellshocked yesterday. I don't even wanna think about how life must be for her husband and two kids who are left behind. Not something you expect when you're 30.

Editorial - 7 June 2004

The first get together with the colleagues was actually some sort of game in the woods (we had to walk or run tied together) trying to collect keys in order to open a box in the end. Obviously someone wants to go left when the other wants to go right. I can see how this can build teamwork as you will have to agree on a direction, being tied together and all. Biggest joke was that we won and we were probably the only team not trying to win, but just keeping it fun to do. No need to get ultra-competitive. Got ourselves and extra day of vacation by winning.
Song of the week : -----
Oldie of the week : "100 Degrees" Kyuss
Last seen movie : "Cool Hand Luke" : Paul Newman is a wise-cracking convict, new in prison, who tries not to be broken down by the warden, and his guards. He quickly becomes the most admired man in prison amongst the inmates. Harsh portrait of a man who willingly makes the wrong choices and never seems to regret them. Contains the classic dialogue : "What we got here is failure to communicate ..."
"The Manchurian Candidate" : dark, grim and eerie cold war paranioa thriller about the assasination of a presidential candidate by non other than an american war-hero. Frank Sinatra's the guy trying to figure things out in time. Could've done with a better build-up in the first act and less theatrical acting, but delivers a great story, a monstrous bad man and excellent scenes from the captivity of some of the leading roles. A worth addition to anyone's collection. Recently remade with Denzel Washington ... hopefully with respect for this great original version.
Doing this week : Since the temperatures are gone up and now circulate around 27 degrees celsius - which is pretty fucking sunny over here - I'll probably be either hiding in the shade or walking around in shorts (Quiksilver and the like). You decide ... not.

Editorial - 2 June 2004

Congrats to Kirsten for finishing the 20 km of Brussels only a few months later then when she was just running 5 km two times a week. If she keeps up that pace, she'll be going on holiday towards Italy by foot this time next year.
Song of the week : -----
Oldie of the week : -----
Last seen movie : "Surplus" : An hour long explosion of short interviews and manipulated images and videosamples set to an up tempo technotrack (part breakbeat, part chemical beat). Makes some interesting points towards the spillage of the economically strong countries and compares it to the scrap-metal junkyards in other countries. Nice attempt, but hopelessly flawed due to the sampled nature of the message it thries to bring across. A bit like showing videoclips from "Project Gotham Racing 2" (X-Box racing game) to a class of students, first trying out for their driver's license, as how not to drive.
"Godzilla" : Big budget americanization of the classic japanese monsterfilms regarding a big lizard rampaging big cites. Turn the lizard into an ape and you have King Kong. Anyway, the japanese versions are funny due to the incredibly weak special effects (think guys in rubber suits, handpuppets, pieces of wood hanging from a string etc), so this one will lack that as it's directed by Roland Emmerich - mr. big budget ID4.
Movie starts with a good premise, some scary scenes, not too much of the monster and some funny lines. So far, so good. But then it start repeating itself, takes a strange turn , goes for a cheap sequel cliffhanger and silly mystery additions ... and looses almost everything it was trying to establish. Could've been great, now slightly mediocre.
Doing this week : First teambuilding evening with the new co-workers. No one knows where we're going, no one knows what it'll be. We only know it might be later than midnight before we get back.

darkman says sleep tight

Next month
Editorials