Dreamy White November

Guess who wasn't expecting winter to come this soon? ;-)


The sun tried to break through and caused a faint rainbow in the right hand corner of the pic, but at this very moment, it is actually raining... :-(

Loss of the Cuss

Since being in back Flatland, I've discovered a rather disconcerting fact about myself. It seems I may have inadvertently regained my innocence during my years on the Island. It is rather disturbing. Years of British subtle media censorship of songlyrics and chatshows alike have rendered me rather vulnerable to the brute force of Belgium's non-censorship approach to broadcasting.

On an almost daily basis, I find myself singing along(or attempting to)with the radio, only to realise that the lyrics I am listening to are nothing like the ones I've grown accustomed to on the Island. It seems the "mute", "bleep" and "replace dirty word by mumbling" control buttons used in Britain cleverly managed to avoid my non-censorship-guard in true stealthwise fashion.


Just yesterday, I was thoroughly shocked by some rather rude comments and cusses uttered during a radio interview. When looking to the people around me for some support on the matter, I found that I was the only one to have even noticed. I reckon it is about time I make use of my temporary stay here in Flatland to regain some of my subversive nature. After all, strip a Belgian of their streak for dissidence and their ability to cuss, and what's left? Very little indeed. ;-)

Everything is Illuminated

I was wondering if anyone would pick up on Jonathan Safran Foer's books and attempt to turn one into a screenplay. And according to todays BBC news edition someone finally has. I'm glad to see Elijah Wood decided to play the lead role.

I've yet to read "Everything is Illuminated", but if his previous work is anything to go by, it's bound to be of high standard indeed. I've "lost" every copy of Foer I've ever owned, due to my eagerness to have others around me read it. If you're new to Foer, I would definitely recommend "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close". It won't be to everyone's liking, as it starts to interweave two side stories mid-way through the book, and may come across as a bit confusing and seemingly unrelated at times, but Foer's main character Oscar is quite possibly the most wonderfully brilliant I have encountered in books to date. Given that Foer (born 1977) was actually only in his early twenties when he wrote this book, I feel he could easily be forgiven for the somewhat messy plotlines. The richness of his characters and his ability to observe&narrate some of the most inconspicuous, delicate aspects of human nature clearly demonstrate Foer has got some amazing potential.

Do these look interchangeable to you?

You KNOW you're at a classy party when the host brings out the drill to open the winebottle... Thanks for a highly entertaining night guys!! ;)

Quoi de Neuf?

Guess where I've just been...

I spent the last few days in Paris on the premise of attending a conference on Complex Systems. In actual fact it was my best friend Val who got the all-expenses-paid trip there, courtesy of La Sapienza Uni in Rome. I was really only there to get a few quality days in her presence. And quality it certainly was. Val is one of those people who I sadly get to see only the once or twice a year, despite having been best friends since highschool. It always baffles me how effortlessly we pick up the thread whenever we do see each other. As if time & distance play no role of major importance between us.

Individuals evolve so much, especially in their early twenties. It's not always a given that the fundamental connections you've built up with certain friends survive these changes. Every now and then you get lucky... you've both evolved, not necessarily in the same direction, but you know the fundaments of each other so well, that little effort is required to overcome those newly established differences. But those relationships are rare. Which is why the past few days were such quality.


We had the token girlie night out and instantly reverted to our old ways of strolling around aimlessly, spiritedly chatting away. Val and I never decisively end up anywhere together, we're just not that kind. But somehow we always "happen" upon the nicest of things. It was no different this time around. We "happened" upon a lovely moroccan restaurant called "Au Pied du Chameau" and had an incredibly tasty Tagine. We decided to leave before the belly dancer finished working her way around the restaurant and ended up in the most random pub I have ever seen in my life. It was construed of car parts, trophies, and videoscreens showing nothing but car crashes. After 5 renditions of Bee Gees, we decided to leave, only to discover that the place we'd strolled into was called: "Auto Passion Cafe". That'll teach us for randomly chancing it. But a good laugh it certainly was!

I forfaited the compulsory tourist attractions this time around, and on the suggestion of a few friends, I spent most of my time in the Quartier Marais and the Jewish Quarter. Strangely enough these "gay" and "jewish" quarters seem to blend into each other with no marked difficulty, and the whole area is a fantastically cosy place to be. Although Paris is ridiculously overpiced (£4 for a half pint of Kronenbourgh!!!) it most certainly has an enticing appeal. I must find myself some friends who live there, so I can visit more regularly. Any takers??

Hundred

A research group at UCL in Louvain-la-Neuve has been trying to pinpoint exactly why certain people grow to be a 100 years or older while others do not. I simply had to share this remarkable observation with you guys:

1. Men who grow to be a 100 years or older tend to have had a long marriage.
2. Women who turn a 100 or older generally have never married or have outlived their husband by 50 years.


Remember that girls! ;-)

Light Relief

My copy of "How to Survive your Viva" by Rowena Murray arrived in the mail today. I decided to order it two weeks ago, after that rather bizarre Albus Dumbledore meets PhD nightmare.

Am off to Vienna for a week tomorrow, so it arrived at just the right time: light relief airplane reading. Perfect. Combines my two worst fears: prepping for public speaking whilst suspended mid air at 30,000feet. Can hardly wait.