2001-12-12

Some of this stuff has of course been written in a different era, it's fiction, so don't be offended...
It's old stuff, but worth the reading. Enjoy ***

[ mess@ge in a bottle ]
REPOSTING ///


6/13/2001 8:50:50 PM | NeO Nautilus][
----------------
:: Absurdistan # 2 :: a presidential visit goes ape-shit
This strange email arrived today
X O X O X O:: incoming message/ verify Enigma Coded Sierra Tango Charlie Beta 7 Oooh 45

HEADLINE NEWS:
the Belgian governement is embarking on a whole new strategy to force major international agreements down the throat of unwilling Leaders of the Free World.
The Bushes are visitng Brussels & Leuven today:
nato-summit, meet the king/queen and have a nice little chit-chat about the Balkan States.
So today, both the Federal AND Regional governement signed and ratified the Kyoto agreement on the reduction of greenhouse gasses. In fact, they bloody well ratified it as Bush and Co were walking down the staircase from Air Force 1...
Quite an impressive act of resistance and geopolitcs, we gather.
The original plan was to hand him a translated copy of the ratification TOMORROW - i.e. as he was about to leave this rainy country.

But this is what really happened, you won't find out about on CNN...
...:: the rioting goes on in Brussels all night long, the First Lady was abducted by an Organic Comitee of students at the KULeuven and dumped in the Dijle River, since her visit to the university library caused such trouble and dismay among exam-stressed students that they stormed the building, hereby killing 25 unarmed (cf.infra) federal agents, 2 MiB's and 75 CIA greycoats.
Abused, beaten, and drunk (they took her to the Interbrew facility and made her bathe in fresh-brewn STELLA) as 45 Irish Erasmus/Socrates students on a flying course, she immediately filed for divorce and accepted membership to the ALF, the Cult of the Mad Cow Disease and other faction groups of the Gang of Nivelles. She's now using her contacts in the military establishment to provide weapons for the Kurds, the Chechens and the Underground Resistance Movement for a better World.

Also all the members of the leading Academic Staff have been put on an 18wheeler (in the company of infected hogs, mad chicken and dioxinious cows) and were shipped off to an unknown destination (probably Great Britain).
The university no longer functions, exams are suspended and anyone is invited to raid the secretary's office for blanco Diploma certificates. There surely won't be a shortage of bio-engineers this summer.

Greenpeace stormtroopers have taken over the Nato-HQ in Evere and are now holding hostage All the leaders of the free world.
King Albert abducted his former girlfriend and fled to Uruguay. Our entire governement has boarded the new [ BRAZILIAN ] -official governement plane and is headed for the Congo, where they will take over the reign of Kabila jr. We Belgians have had such a great experience in decolonization, that we would love to re-de-stabalize the whole African continent all over again.

Anyway; this is an interesting political situation for the European Union, since Belgium will take over its presidency by 1st of July.

Nato communications have been shut down and a riotin' mob of angry young men is parading all over Brussels, wielding the newest armor-piercing assault rifles developped at FN Herstal. All federal police agents have deserted and are now forming another Unfriendly Force Against the World-Domination of Texan Would-be Presidents (UFAWDTP)
Bunkered down and shut off from the outside world, the Free World Leaders have repeatedly offered unconditional surrender. But unfortunately, that is unacceptable...
Chaos rules here in Belgium, since the major axis to the capital were shutdown this morning in order to let MrBush drive easily into town. The de-blockading will take about a week, and no emergency insurgency forces have managed to reach the crisis area.
UFO's have been monitored over Belgian Airspace, but Mr. Viscount Frimout has said and we quote:: they're just weather-balloons, please don't panic, I would like to hang on to my title.
Tomorrow is already here in Belgium and it seems that Absurdistan finally acquired a place on the map

Reporting LIVE for the Underground Resistance Movement. over and out
End PGP-signed message
[edit]

[6/13/2001 8:17:54 PM | NeO Nautilus]:: Bush in Brushels:: follow up from Reuters Syndicated Desinformation ::
Sh*t::
ben net binnen van 't prison (cf. supra/infra)
na woeste ondervragingen die gepaard gingen met niet al te vriendelijk gezwaai van stunguns en mindgame-machines, lieten de men in black me gaan.
Bont, blauw, maar enfin Titanium kan tegen een stootje.

Alles wat jullie nu op de radio horen ivm de Bush'els is lulkoek en des-informatie. Ze zijn NIET in Brussel. en het is NIET rustig gebleven.

Op het NAto-hoofdkwartier zijn de green-peace-troepen gewapenderhand over de omheiningen en controleposten gewalst:: ze houden nu alle 19 de Europese leiders gegzijzeld. + Mister Bush natuurlijk:: totdat hij het Kyoto-protokol ondertekent.

Mevrouw Bush is gemolesteerd teruggevonden door duikers in de Dijle. 't bezoek aan de Bibliotheek werd haar niet in dank afgenomen en een organisch georganiseerd collectief stond haar op te wachten achter de deuren van de microfilm-opslagruimte (die men wou laten zien om te bewijzen hoe archaïsch wij hier wel werken). Daarop werd ze naar de hoofdtoren meegesleurd (in ware "in de naam van de roos - stijl), doorheen het labyrint met de verboden boeken (noot: dit schijnt wel degelijk te bestaan). Vanop die toren werd ze in de druilregen te drogen gehangen aan het spandoek dat nog dienst gedaan heeft om de censuur-actie van de Kul tegen pornografisch materiaal (zie het ITHACA-parcours van dit jaar) te veroordelen.

Na gepalaver tussen universitaire stormtroepen, pms-personeel en de studenten-guerilleros werd besloten dat
A/ vanaf heden alle examens, semex, proefwerken, seminaries & hoorcolleges ophouden te bestaan
B/ alle behaalde resultaten verbeurd verklaard worden
C/ iedereen op vertoon van zijn aCCo-kaart een diploma bio-ingenieur kan gaan afhalen

Hierop werd Madam Bush naar beneden gelaten in de glasbakken van 't stad Leuven die aan de bib staan. Vervolgens werd ze meegetroond in een gehijackte fed-pol-combi naar de brouwerzaal van den Interbrew, waar haar een warm doch verdovend bad in stella ge-offreerd werd om af te koelen.
De afvoer-klep werd opengedraaid en een volstrekt illegale lozingsoperatie ging van start waarbij Missus Bush in companie van Tobback en de Gouverneur van Vl-Brabant naar de eeuwige jachtvelden werden geholpen.

Na enige commotie werd het rectoraat bezet, waar de studenten de archeologisch waardevolle sigaren annex whisky-stock van Piet de Somer aan het opsouperen zijn. De universitaire overheid zwijgt in alle talen.

De bewoneres van Leuven steunen de actie en mengen zich (! dit is nog nooit gebeurd !!!) tussen de straat-fuivende studenten om de bevrijding van Tobback te vieren. Interbrew sponsort de boel met het gratis ter beschikking stellen van de hele dagproduktie van Jupkes en Stellakes.

Mi casa e dove c'e la mia stella.

n.b. ik heb niks tegen Mme Bush:: zij is een echte intellectueel

Anyway::
geloof dus niks van wat ze u via de pers proberen wijs te maken::
het land is in chaos verzonken,
de regering in apathische lethargie,
binnenkort wordt het gsm-netwerk opgeblazen
Place your bets & calls NOW.
We welcome;
"governement by the people, for the people, through the people"
[edit]

[6/13/2001 8:16:25 PM | NeO Nautilus]
--------------------------------
:: Bush in Brussels/ First Lady in Leuven ::

Heuglijke dag vandaag,
-enorme verkeerschaos op alle invalswegen
-gans Brussel is afgezet, meer dan 1000 federal friggin' agents on the loose
-de Warande is onbereikbaar: just had a phone call with our man on the inside: it's completely locked down
-hij overnacht in de Amerikaanse Ambassade (allen daarheen vannacht met luid toeterende wagens)

1120: Madame Bush wordt ontvangen op het stadhuis van Leuven
1145: Madame Bush wordt door Rector Oosterlinck, het protocol, de pedellen van de KUL + een ongedefinieerd aantal CIA-spooks rondgeleid in de 2-voudig afgebrande en 2-voudig (vooral door amerikaanse instellingen) heropgebouwde KUL-hoofdbibliotheek:: nog een chance dat ze recentelijk al die verboden boeken verwijderden (...)
1200: Ik probeer het Ladeuze-plein te bereiken en wordt prompt gearresteerd, so much for that exam... (just kidding)

Schuins tegenover het kot van Melissa en Giulia bevindt zich het TOP-Secret back-up plannen centrum van de NAVO: zou Madame Bush dat ook gaan bezoeken?

+/- 1300: lunch in de Faculty Club? I better go check, want studenten zijn ook hongerig
+/-1500: Madame Bush racet weg van de Begijnhof parking (spijtig dat ze haar voiture niet ge-im-mobiliseerd hebben wegens gebrek aan blauwkleurig KUL-parkeervignet)
+/-1515: ontvangst op Paleis alwaar het edele echtpaar exact hetzelfde sculpuur/schilderij/web-based performance overhandigd krijgen als ons nieuwe helden Clijsters/Henin. Eat this:: sisters Williams!

2310: verkeerschaos in gans het land begint langzaam af te zwakken: circa 35% van alle werknemers is niet op job geraakt
In totaal ongeveer 213 actievoerders gesignaleerd te Zaventem/Elsene/BXL. In Leuven:: geen kat op straat. Studenten in blok zijn onverstoorbaar. Nog een chance dat Madame Bush niet in Oktober is gepasseerd, of ten tijde van een studentendoop.

Allez: ziehier dan toch een moedige vorm van cyber-protest::
Mr. Bush: would you please honor the Kyoto-protocol?

Thank you very much


een informant: Madame Bush zit nu (1350 Leuven zulu time) rustig a pinke te drinken in Café 't Poske, vlakbij 't justitiepaleis - dit in het gezelschap van facteurs die nog aan hun ronde moeten beginnen, een paar werkzoekenden en PWA'ers, een zatte Louis Tobback & some men in black.
De Pinkes staan daar aan 25 BEF/ o,40 USD

[6/9/2001 4:44:24 PM | NeO Nautilus]
:: HighWay ::

As I drove down today (saturday), I noticed an incredible of cars speeding at more than 140 kms/h. Some tailgated me and tried to push me off the left lane by approaching at mindboggling warpspeed. I resisted the temptation more than once to give 'em the finger since, - surprisingly maybe - , most of these aggressive drivers were woman!
I'm not much of an experienced chauffeur, but I've had my drivers licence for 7 years now - accident free. Usually I drive just a little under the accepted speed limit (120 + 10% = not getting the radar pointed at you) on the highways. In the city, or on secondary roads I get a kick of respecting all the rules: i.e. letting people cross the road, giving way, ... And I try to implement the zipper-rules if there's some major congestion. Also try always to be careful around 18-wheelers - earn their respect and they will treat you honorably.
I believe that there are ethics involved on the road. Be nice to people, drive at the speeds you're confortable with, always buckle up (even backseat passengers should be notified). But then your road warrior code is challenged:: note down the licence number plate and report it to the authorities. Don't act stupid or start to chase them down!.

So what's going on these days? Why are all these ladies speeding towards unknown destinations? Why do they pick on me?
Well - I haven't got a clue. But I'll tell you this:: my respect for them is on an all time low.

Tell me how you drive & I'll tell you who you are...
[edit]

[6/5/2001 9:51:39 PM | NeO Nautilus]
::letters from AbSurdistan #1 ::

Not everybody knows that Belgium is a weird place to live and work in.
We have Tintin, Jacques Brel, the European Parliament in Brussels.
The mascotte of this capital is a young kid peeing in public under the shadows of a monument to the second industrial revolution:: the atomium.
But then again: the Flemish beat the French in 1302 and big festivities are planned for next summer, all the while dutyfully forgetting that the French came back in 1311 and beat the sh*t out of the Flemish. The francophones haven't left ever since!

We also have Magritte, Breughel and Rubens, and the Venice of the North. We have to port of Antwerp, second to none on this continent (according to the locals). We invented New Beat and are spoiling the airwaves for alien civilizations galaxies away with Eddy Wally.
But we have a true fascination for the absurd. Surrealism "sprouted" here; copyright notices in the 19th century carried the following premonition All rights reserved for the whole world and Belgium.
Our selfdeclared first ennemy of the state managed to escape from the highest security prison because the cops are not allowed to carry loaded firearms. Fortunately he was seized by a clever Forestry official who wasn' carrying any arms at all...
We have the highest number of Ministers/secretaries pro-capita in the world and yet manage to survive on a debt-charge that towers over 140% of our yearly income.
The saxophone was invented in Dinant and the turning point of WW II was fought in the gruesome Ardennes where the Allied forces managed to stall the von Rundstadt - offensive, - they were keeping in mind that the German Blitz took only 18 days to cross the country in its push towards the Atlantic.
Funny how this country - that was created in 1830 as a defensive zone between the great powers of that age - was able to profit of the Industrial revolution long before the French and British came to terms with it. Congo became a crown-colony and concentration camps were invented there to manage the oppression.
So nowadays we live in prosperous country, or city. Our urbanization is completely fucked up, all our roads (not only highways) are alive at night under blazing lights. You can cross from north to south, or from east to west in less in max 2 1/2 hours. We drive like madman because our roads are so choked with cars that only the laws of the jungle prevail.

NeO will publish some funny facts concerning this micro-society, where 10 million locals try very hard to bypass every single regulation there is. Tax evasion is a national sport and if you were to open up a bar/resto the correct legal way, you'd file for bankruptancy within 2 weeks. Everyone is supposedly bilingual french/dutch but most of the time people from Limburg and Kortijk don't understand eachother, speaking the same tongue - that is.
In weekends every single households spends 4 hours rushing to the seaside, covering only approximately 80 kms in 2 hours, only to end up with their own neighbours enjoying the view of a coastal strip filled with 10-storey high buildings.


Funky place to live in

:: Site up and running ::

Position:: @ Nautilus' Port.
Engines are running warmer.
Cooling system unaffected by high outside temperatures.
Escape pods have been tested. Scientific equipment loaded.
Comm-links working the full 100%. New encryption keys received by overnight mail.
Awaiting instructions & trying to track down crew that went Awol. Not very intensively ;-)
Overall morale of troops: excellent!
[edit]

[6/5/2001 4:50:03 PM | NeO Nautilus]
::radio free Europe::

Just heard this on the radio.
There's a famous quiz-master who prides himself with the fact that he used to follow people around while he was @t college.
He'd write those people anonymous letters concerning their routines.
Stalking avant la lettre if you wish. But then again it's an interesting way of exercising your covert-approach tactics.
Surveillance is everywhere! Last week the Special European Comittee on Echelon published it's first findings.
Existance of a global eavesdropping network positively affirmed. However they do not see any threat whatsoever for European business! The Usa, UK & partners can home in on any kind of communication we use:: fax, email, GSM, other mobiles, SMS, ...
We'll be reduced to using courier doves like in the old days. But then again, we're at risk all the time, for lack of encryption technologies that the Usa embargoes for export.
They used to say:: the revolution will be televized.
Now it's bloggerized... Not only via Web-Logs, but also by more than innocent subversive acts.
Post a link to the FBI or any other Governement spy-agency and you'll end up on the blacklist. Maybe next time you will not be able to enter the States!!! You will have become an illegal alien, blacklisted for further investigation.
Once in a while: engage your friends to fight out a foedish battle by email, using all the Echelon-terms you can think off. You'll end up in their files... But you'll use up some data processing capabilities.

Speak out now! Voice your opinions before you're reduced to silence. And don't think they will not track you down.
In fact they are already at your door.

In the old days, stalking was fun - at least according to our famous quiz-master. Nowadays it's E A S Y.
Protect yourself & your privacy. Smarten up and instruct yourself. Don't be just a mere Consu-man


::. Art .::

Willem Kloos: "Kunst is de allerindividueelste expressie van de allerindividueelste emotie"
............. "Art = the most individual expression of the most individual emotion"

So the artist is here to express what we all feel in our day-to-day existence? But are unable to do?
We all have read some books where the writer manages to conjure up some feeling that we too would have loved to be able to put down like that.
Writers often also feel the need to guide their readers through their texts, pointing out that every single letter or space is important.
Readers often skim passages that seem at first boring, but forget how much blood, sweat and tears crept over the writer's keyboard in order to produce those lines...


[6/4/2001 9:53:27 PM | NeO Nautilus]
:.Lightning might strike.:
Evening Meditation:
Choices are costly. It's Economics 101.
Choose something and you will forever loose the other option.
But then again... What if there were a way to trans-scend above the choices that are presented to us as inevitable?
That the proposed options are false and that the mere act of choosing would be already to accomodate some higher entitiy, that tries to manipulate us?
Have you ever wondered and complained about the fact that we've lost control over our own lives, dreams and ideas?
We're so easily absorbed in some kind of "Corporate" identity; be it on the job, in our family, in our relations and forsake our own purposes.
Mankind has been reduced to the Consu-Man. You identify yourself by the car you drive, the neighbourhood you live and work in, the school you attended or send your kids too. All too often conversations with complete strangers whirl around the following:
- what kind of degree do you have?
- where do you work or study?
- what car do you drive?
- what does your father do for a living?
- do you root for this or that sports-team?

So experiment:
if your father is the Senior VP of a major Bank:: say: "he's an employee of a financial institution."
if you like sports: "I hate sports"
car: "I drive a vintage 1985 Trabant" or some kind of lowprofile Japanese vehicule"
job: unemployed rather than in between jobs...

You can surely think of more.
The point is that by mispresenting" yourself, you make a thoughtfull choice. You refuse to be categorized. And evidently, you'll end up lonely in the corner of the room with no one to talk too.
Answer evasively, or cautiously. Hide your own agenda. Do not let yourself be caught off guard. Keep a clear eye.
Starting a conversation is never easy. But you shouldn't run down the beaten path all the time.
If somebody asks you "how'ya doing?" Answer:: B A D!!! Your inter-acting agent will not know how to respond. Then decide how to continue. If you really want to keep going, give a detailed explanation of how B A D you really feel and see for yourself.
Have fun!!!

note: this idea of not-responding in traditional ways came to me after viewing The Idiots - a dogma 95 film from the school of Lars von Trier:: a bunch of students decide to play physically challenged persons to mesure the effect it has on society. Quite a movie...

NeO out


[6/4/2001 5:58:00 PM | NeO Nautilus]
::..quote\unquote..::

"You wanna be making moves on the street:
Have no attachments,
Allow nothing to be in your life
that you cannot walk out on in 30 seconds flat
if you spot the heat around the corner." [from HEAT]


"I know you're out there,
I can feel you
I know that you're afraid
You're afraid of us, you're afraid of change
I don't know the future.
I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end.
I came here to tell you how this is going to begin.
I'm going to hang up this phone
and then I'm going to show these people what you don't want them to see.
I'm going to show them a world without you.
A world without rules and controls,
without borderes or boundaries.
A world where anything is possible.
Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you" [from The Matrix]

Rien n'est grave puisque tout passe [ Eugène Ionesco ]

[ e-mail ] [ homepage ]
[edit]


::... end-troducing...:: What's wrong with walking the high road, the risky one?
Do you care about the preciousness of life?
Do you assume the fullness and fullfilment life can bring you?
Or are you happy with a meager existance of fitting in...
Do you stand up for yourself?

And so you wonder: why do you people respect you?
Because of your capacity to adapt, because of what you stand for?

Nomad, traveller, you hear the call of the road.
- break away from sedentary life. Cast away all those anchors.
- rebuild everything on your own terms.

Everybody has a secret life of his own. Know this; you can only rely on yourself.

I have been the captain of many ships but my own. I always sailed on other people's directions.
Now, it is time for this to change

Nothing is static:: be creAtive or disappear
[Re- posting...]

Stumbling through archives and archives of text... Discovering long lost thoughts and meaningfull ramblings. Musings so to speak, that after all may still present some meaning. For completeness sake: a republished old blog here....

Depuis que je ne cherche pas -
je trouve.
(P.Picasso)

Do you know what your siblings' eye colours are?
If not -go check ...

[6/25/2001 12:01:49 AM | NeO Nautilus]
------------------
Dear Reader::

you may have wondered where we got all this inspiration.
Well, only recently have we discovered some interesting insight.
When you think you're an individual doing something very SINGULAR, you are mistaken. Millions of people roam this planet, and millions of them have a webpage now. So lately we've been stumbling over a lot of "melancholy" sites, with nod design, just content. So that's in a nutshell what we're planning to do here. Provide you with content (photgraphic evidence of uselessness and crypto-phobiac litterary rants).
Read on, happy Friends, since you are in the getting entertained by us business.
Sadly, however, our continuous quest for fellow contributors turns out to be pretty marginal. YOU - ALSO - have something to tell. And just sticking to your own life, minding your business will leave you very "locked-in". Act up, do something or write about it. Get out there and help the elderly cross the traffic-infested streets. Don't just sit back and enjoy the ride, get behind the wheel - and drive off to a happier horizon.

We will - in the long run - structurize these musings, but for now we'll deal with these publishing-problems in an amateur kind of way.

Hate the frames on this site?
Hate the content?
Hate Jules Verne?
Hate your own life?

Let us know, interact, and we'll get back to you.

[6/17/2001 12:13:28 AM | NeO Nautilus]
so

1. find a destination
2. plan your route
3. deliver the loco - motive and the M.O. (modus operandi)
4. Execute = terminate with extreme prejudice
5. Do not let yourself be attached to anything that you cannot walk out on in 15 seconds flat
if you spot the heat - around the corner.
[edit]

[6/17/2001 12:08:18 AM | NeO Nautilus]------------
You wanna be making moves on the street . . .
Considering the amount of stress we all experience while going through some form of examinations,
I seem to be pulling it off quite well.
If it weren't for the fact that I have to deal with a situation here.

Picture perfect people seem to meander through my life: the young & beautiful & intellectual high-brows of society. They treat each other well on an individual basis. But when whining or dining they evolve into a pack of blood-smelling wolves. The degrees of hypocry and malign behaviour skyrocket out of control.
And yet we are pleased with ourselves. Oh so god-damn pleased.
It's sickening to view the little sides of the people that circulate at the top of the criminal food-chain. How they always manage to turn responsabilities away.

Those are strong shoulders that can carry the burden of wealth. And we mean by that:: every kind of wealth. Be it monney, succesfull entrepreneurship, relational agility, manipulative overdrive, or plain and simple greedy intelligence.

So what happens if you decide to give up this un-true way of life. What if you decide that you can matter, that you can do better, that you can touch other people, not in their wallet, but in their hearts and souls. We have to reach out and embrace such opportunities.

I am a traveller, a nomad, I walk the road that's laid out for me. But I'm also a survivor. I carry wounds unhealed, screws and plates of titanium. Every day I wake up to see the scars on my body like tatoes from a ritualistic passing.
Once, playfully, some buddies and I re-enacted the Voyageur-ritual up in the Quetico region. Travellers on the fur trade became men. They left as boys, and hardened by the cameraderie and friendship of the untamed, they blessed themselves one last time before heading back into the charted routes and the established maps. That was quite playful, touching even. And afterwards we regarded eachother as grown-ups, acting deftly, having bonded for 40 days in the bush.

Those days are now long gone. But still, as the anniversary of THE incident passes, I cannot keep myself from thinking. Why does my heart run so wild! Why am I allowed a second chance.
I call it "unfinished sympathy", unfinished business. Sometimes a call is placed upon a man, and when the shit hits the fan, a man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do. Things cannot be un-done. Eggs need to be broken, for the cake of life has to be baked.
-------------

2001-12-05

GRAEMIA
reading now::
William Gibson "Mona Lisa Overdrive"
Jacques Salomé: "Tous les matins de l'amour"

listening to::
Buddha Bar 1,2 & 3
Dusty Springfield: The look of love
Peace through Superior Poetry

"Poem to the unknown out there "

Sometimes it hits you, this feeling of con-nectivity
The overwhelming sense that you belong to that person out there
Maybe you met, maybe you haven't yet
But you feel that she/he/ is out there, in the woods,
Maybe lonely and longing like you
More realistically Not and Happy, unaware of your presence

Then you realize
That we're only here for a short while
And that we only have the people that surround us, whether we love 'em or not.
We can spend our whole life waiting for IT to happen, that encounter with the unknown,
that coming home.
Or
We can start from where we are, who we are and who we love,
and become humane, loving and open our hearts and lives.

This may be cheesy, or cheap,
but this is IT.
An what else can you reasonably expect,
than to take these chances that life offers us, unpredictably -
sometimes hard on our nerves and hearts.

But to make a little difference, to be a better man/woman,
to start to try - even harder every day.

Let's just embrace one another right now, dear unknown, metaphorically.
for even if we never meet, we'll still love each other, won't we?

We'll have a good time trying,
embracing,
and listening to the music in our hearts,
to that call of the unknown in the wild.

We'll never know for sure if that unknown is out there.
But in the coldness of our evenings,
and the late hours of our lives,
we'll be very happy for having listened
sometimes,...
And warm to the thought of what remains to come, every single day,
the FULLNESS of it all, life's greatest gifts.
We'll be who we are, dearest of unknown friends,
Awake, Aware, True and always loving.

copyright by wacondah.com
Last week an article appeared in De Standaard::

Toyota reacts on the use of LandCruisers by Afghan Entities.

"Officially, no Toyota LandCruiser was shipped to Afghanistan."
Nevertheless we see those vehicles all the time on footage from the most remote regions, to the capital cities.
According to the company, these jeeps were probably brought into the country from Iran or Pakistan by the Taliban...
"We regret that they are being used in this war, and we regret that the terrorists of AlQuiada are using them to wage war..."
"But those vehicles were probably chosen for their reliability, sturdiness and rugged-terrain characteristics. It seems that even terrorists know quality..." (sic, translated)...

One cannot help to wonder about the ethics of such a company statement. On the one end they deny that they have any interest, on the other hand they cannot stop themselves from praising their products... It's a cruel world out there, and for the moderate consu-man that we are, it sure as hell isn't easy to swallow all this hidden teasers and publicity.

So in the end, Toyota's message is this: we don't care if you're getting shot from one of our vehicles. In fact we admire these terrorists for their good taste and their fine ability as judgmental and educated consumers.

Wacondah.com says this: WE WILL NEVER BUY TOYOTA.
We're sick of the hypocrisy.

With a charm and a kiss, over and out for now
website:: [www.wacondah.com]

2001-11-22

welcome to hi-speed intenet access... Finally upgraded to a cable-modem system... Yiehaa... We feel the need...
The need for speed....
so you'll be hearing from us soon here... Uploading lots and lots of media. Stay tuned @wacondah.com

2001-11-15

So far so good,
implementing too much stuff here, but it seems all to be working
don't be worrying so much, man,
new content is ready to rock your soul

off for the weekend, so more next week, refreshing!
check this out: http://www.majesticthegame.com/
c ya

2001-11-09

Mobiles / Mentos COOL chews / Radio / Culture & Jamming:: a post to back up some stuff

To make sure we pass these messages along... We republish them here.

how many MOBILE numbers have you got... and how many different operators, country prefixes, etcetera...

Does a mobile phone make you mobile?

did you know that it's very difficult to listen into a cellular conversation, but only if both phones are moving at a speed generally faster than mere walking. The explanation is the following: moving along, your device scans the airwaves to pick up the signals of the nearest ANTENNAE, and without interrupting the conversation, you switch from 1 antenna to another.

But be carefull, apparently, some Dutch company developped a handheld device to trace the switching by keeping track of the SIM-card characteristics... This technology is already available for a very high price...

So while talking, keep moving... But remember to use a handsfree set in this country...
-------
Went out to the friendliest grocery in this country and bought some mints, without realizing it, i popped a couple & a flood of flashbacks starting pouring down the spine. Neurons started racing eachother to produce all kinds of sensations. Proust's cookies can come to you in any form... Keep your brain alert to the mystery! We don't know half the stuff that's going on.

-------
Culture jamming: taking the headliners of major corporations and transforming into what they really mean. Have you noticed that every big multinational organization has A/ a logo B/ "a motto" that sort of identifies what it stands for...

Ex: the Nike "swoosh" + Just do IT. CJam= you sweatshop member: JUST DO IT!!!

anyway, funny but also very sad to view how some people do not think for themselves. We spend much more time in front of T.V. than reading poems, books, opinions or essays, or just doing the stuff we love to do. Help! we are enslaved. somebody à la Bolivar should "liberate" us... But then again, this reference may be offensive to some Tribes in South - America. Oh, it's al sooo complex. But we should speak up, ventilate our thoughts and frustrations more and keep on TRYING to make this a better place... We should start with ourselves, clean in front of our own doors, recycle more, use less cars, stop buying so much plastic and generally be more AWARE of what we are doing here. Stop us from hiding, stop us from sticking our heads in the grounds

------
Driving on the highway. Music tuned into a funky channel. We have a TRAFFIC - system here that enables you to get up-to-date, realtime info. This is especially frustrating when you're already in the wrong place, at the wrong time. More fascinating though is the fact that this system works with coded data being transmitted to your car-radio, so that it switches off the cd or casette deck, right before they transmit the message, and switch it back on, all automatically. Now, recently, after the traffic message has been read out by some sarcastic reporter on duty, they stash a publicity message right after it, and before the data is transmitted that switches on your cd or casette again. The price of useless information...

Anyways: do the marketeers really think that the audience is stupid? I like advertising, especially the creative ones that make you laugh or curious. So please: COPY-writers: do YOUR JOBS better.

Consumerism is our way of life
------
http://www.worldpeaceradio.com

get out there: NOW!!! You' re missing a piece of the action

2001-11-07

The Code of the Geeks v3.12 http://www.geekcode.com

We recommand reading this and then interpreting the geekcodeblock will soon post here...

By the by: new sitedesign is up, running and waiting to be published. Check back very soon whether the threat is real or not...

2001-10-26

De Standaard Online Elisabeth...

More news on the newborn Princess Elisabeth.
101 shots were fired in the Warande - parc in Brussels at noon. Tradition rules in this country...

Perlentaucher

Perlentaucher.de - Literatur im Netz Schriftsteller

Check out this great resource for German Literature...
Yesterday night - conference in the KUB - University / Brussels
The Swiss Writer Thomas Hürlimann gave us a fabulous performance, reading excerpts from his latest book and confronting critics and the public: Reception - investigation of literary works : live!
The local student - association was having a cantus and were consuming tons of beer in the basement.
Outside a man got shot, DOA. The police blocked the whole area.
Returning home: BIG NEWS. Belgium has now for the first time a FEMALE Throne pretendent: Princess Elisabeth, born October 25th.

Seemingly random acts, brought together by the simple fact that one goes to these things.
In front of T.V. we would only have seen the BIG NEWS. And nothing of what "real" life is all about.

::Today::
visit to the ICI & Maintenant - exposition in the monumental building of Tours & Taxis. Fabulous, post-modern (?) and huge collectio
of present-day artists and artefacts who roam in this capital of Europe. (more info on monday @ frogg-umentary).

Now reading: Patrick Roegiers: L'occuliste noyé
and listening to the latest LAMB.

Counter Consumerism - liberate yourself from the screens...

2001-10-23

We experience strange phenomena these days.
1. we feel bad - because it seems that everything is running out of control. Event after event after event, we view the most shocking depiction of what this world has become.
2. we feel bad - because we experience the shallowness of information. Continually swamped by bits, bytes and so-called live images, we've been orphaned of the time so needed for reflection
3. we feel bad - because we're no longer in touch with the things we CAN understand. Who are we, to determine the implications of the globalized events right now. Everything is connected so it seems, but does anyone have an overview - and if they do, are they sharing it with us?

For fear of falling into the conspiracy-freak-trap, have you met anyone recently able to explain you what's going on?
Where's the sense in all this... The starving children, the amputated youngsters, the indoctrination of whole countries. WHAT FOR?
And where do we stand in all this, as ordinary decent (criminal) - citizens of the so-called Free World. Do you condone the shelling by your governement? Hate retaliates - love not. Are there any ethics left?

Has all the backpack travelling, the voyages through ancient continents, the hyperlinking of the world taught us any thing, any insight?
Brother! Where art thou?

People experience fear now, fear for their own material well-being, their hopes and futures, their loans and savings. What about the guys & girls without bank-accounts? Is it a strategic plan to keep them stupid? Ignorant? Hatefull and jealous?

2 years ago, we published some facts concerning the overseas aid to development, quoting from an oficial report... Less than 2% of our GDP's are spent yearly on the 3rd world... But we manage to keep an agricultural industry alive in Europe - artificially. More than 45% of the European Budget goes to this sector, whereas less than 10% work in it. And it's killing our environment. We produce milk, meat,grain, wine, butter, chocolate surplusses by the millions of tons. Some farmers burn off their surplus in order not to get fined. And all the while we bomb 15$ tents to smithereens with high-tech weapons that bring us no peace or safety.

We ALL should do something about this - starting in our own backyard. Get out there, spread the world, the revolution has begun...

2001-10-21

*** Frogg-outlook for the world***

The Beatles have this great song that starts with: " I read the news today, oh Boy,..."

Yesterday, his Frogg-iness, talked to some really interesting friend... This Lady presented all the characteristics of a Modern-Day Western, emancipated, socially-caring GentleWoman. An Immigrant in this country for 40 years, she displayed a shell-shocked state of discomfort with the outbreaks of racism and xenophobia recently. It's like we've ignored all these problems for years...
And now all of a sudden, we realize that it's too late.

Sort of like the Clash of Civilisations brought to a mere mortal. She displayed a panicky behaviour, irrational thinking, carried away by the media-coverage of anthrax-scares worldwide. Prank-calls of dust-filled letters have indeed been swamping the general public worldwide, in this country alone some 250 harmless enveloppes were examined by the Specialized men in their haz-mat suits. This is no fun anymore.


The more you talk to people, the better you can realize how much really everything has changed lately. The first raids of stupid spin-off jokes is calming down, and as the hysteria settles a bit, we are confronted with the EXPERTS::: ranging from biochemical warfare specialists to terrorist experts for the Middle East region.
This shows us 2 things
1. the public is ready to accept anyone as an expert on anything: no more rationale. YOU yourself can become an expert on a very complicated and/or simple matter like toilet-flushing, the man-handling of potentially lethal enveloppes, how to dig a trench in an urban backyard or how to analyze the new... More serious though is the willingness of the public to do away with all PROPER & OWN thinking: we readily accept anybody's (another Expert...) mis-interpretation of this old French POET Nostradamus. It's plain crazy that we accept these translations, read them and mass-forward them to everybody as if this were an exact trans-position of what the poor fellow meant by writing this... Cryptic poetry has always been the source of so-called predictions...

2. the media right now are in a difficult position: they rely on the war-faring countries for (dis)- information. This is very apparent on the VRT - state-owned televised news shows. Anchorman and Woman don't hesitate to hand out the qualification of DISINFORMATION to new from the Taliban... Since there are for the time being no "neutral" reporters in the region, we're confronted with what THEY want us to tell. So the conspiracy-guys must have the times of their lives.... Look at all the incidents of the Last 3 weeks, and you can only deduct that this IS NOT COINCIDENTAL anymore...

So caution... The truth is out there, but we'll probably never find out HOW CYNICAL the truth really is.
- Do YOU accept anything they tell you?
- Do you let your thinking be Controlled?
- Do you let yourself be misled by so-called accurate footage of the latest accurate smart-bomb - NOW with Digital Night Vision...

They better get some marketeers to work on the names of those operations, smart-bombs and special forces.
- DO you care if the latest GBU-26 is flown by a B2-Stealth bomber with laser-vision enhanced and radar-deflecting capabilities???

Or

Do you care about the politics? The meaning of it all, and what this is doing to the world, the environment & the people.
Do you want to spend the rest of your life in fear and agony of the unknown, the different.

We better inform ourselves... After all - we are all equal, on a genetic based scientific level, but yet so different.
Assumez vos responsabilités: vive la différence!
Diversity is a good thing, but it most be on a respectful basis...
We shouldn't be slaughtering eachother in wars. This is UNacceptable...

2001-10-09

Bought some great music today:

- Cigar Lounge
- Buddha Bar III
- Your music - your Lounge

Ideal for those rum-moments at the Tropézina-beach-club
que aprovecheis!

2001-10-02



On the question of nicknames or "handles", read this article in the faq - pages of slashdot.org.
They have a meaning.
Handles are part of our online identity. More often than not, this identity conveys an entirely different message than our given names.

Also people sometimes get frustrated, wondering aloud what the purpose of having multiple handles, emails,... ad infinitum is.
One answer: since it's all free and out there, why not organize your life better.
But... make sure you keep a CODE-BOOK handy, where you note (in real writing) all your different codes and passwords. They shouldn't be stored on your computer...


----------
Today I went for a walk in the park right next door, to sniff the breeze of automn, and to remind myself how ephemeral everything is. If you look at the landscape surrounding your habitat: don't you just wonder how long it has been like that?
Think back a couple of decades, forget about powerlines, stone buildings, traffic lights and roads. And then hug the nearest oak tree, because it has seen a lot of changes recently. Feel the energy that sort of "vibrates" from it, and think him/her for the wonderful job it does releasing oxygen...
Because after all, the tree-huggers may be right: this is it.
Quality of Life, Action for Life Quality of Life Airborne

This project deserves our attention.
Recycling waste and stimulating ununsed resources in companies worldwide. Rock, on QfL!

2001-09-18

Cynisch is het geparafraseer, het gegoochel met media en desinformatie, en het gebrek aan objectivering.
Cynisch zijn verloren mensenlevens, pijn en leed - waar ook ter wereld, en calculus in dit verband, antieke interpretaties, en holle ideologische demagogie.
Cynisch is het gebrek aan solidariteit, en ongepaste terughoudendheid. Cynisch is de gijzeling van samenlevingen, overal ter wereld, ahv terreur, en dreiging en angst
Cynisch zijn zovele zaken, waar ik verder over zal zwijgen, want er is al pijn genoeg, en het herhalen van pijnlijk bedoelde woorden en daden brengt geen soelaas, maar verbittering

laten we ophouden cynisch te zijn;
lees dit hieronder, van een Amerikaanse Vriend toegestuurd gekregen.
ik sluit me er bij aan
good luck to you all en... - i love you too ...

Someone sent this to me, and it just seemed appropriate for the
devastation and loss of life that occurred a few days ago
.
There is a great sorrow that spreads across our the USA today and will remain for
some time, but it's the little things that count. I would like any of
you that have had any connection to the carnage through relatives,
friends or co-workers to accept my sympathies. If you haven't heard any
news yet, let's all hope that when you do it is "all-good".
Peace be with you and within you, and we will all make it through
this.

------------------
If I knew it would be the last time I'd see you fall asleep,
I'd tuck you in more tightly, and pray the Lord your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time I'd see you walk out the door,
I'd hug you and kiss you and call you back for just one more.

If I knew it would be the last time I heard your name in praise,
I'd videotape each word, and play it back for days.

If I knew it would be the last time to spare a minute or two,
I'd stop and say "I love you," instead of assuming you know I do.

If I knew it would be the last time I'd be there to share your day,
Well, I'm sure you'll have many more, so, I'll let this one slip away.

For surely there is a tomorrow to make up for an oversight,
And we'll always get a second chance to make everything all right.

There will always be another chance to say our "I love yous,"
And certainly there's another chance to say our "What I can dos."

But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get,
I'd like to say I love you, and hope you never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike,
And today might be your last chance to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it all today?
For if tomorrow never comes, you will surely regret the day,
You didn't take the extra time for a smile or hug or kiss.
And you surely aren't too busy to grant what may be their last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today, and whisper in their ear.
Tell them how much you love them, and that you'll always hold them dear.

Take the time to say "I'm sorry, forgive me or It's okay,"
And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today.

Apologize and start anew
and tell the one who loves you, that you love them too!

Now obviously the person who sent this to you loves you, maybe as a
friend, maybe as more.
But pass it along to all your friends, because you never know when
this day will be your last.


Kind regards
-------------

2001-09-16

this has been a sad week.
a terrifying week also
fear for chain - reactions, more assaults
and pain, uncalculable moutains of pain
we wish for everybody to find serenity
we wish for the victims that they may find peace
we wish for all who carry responsibilities to assume them with caution, dignity and raison d'état that proves we have entered the 3rd millenium
we condone violence in every possible way
we wish for peace, understanding and respect

on a monument in Flander's Fields, 3 words have been written down by our forebears: 3 small words carrying a great message
No More War
let us be students of history, how inaccurate this may reveal to be
for time has learnt us this: violence is not a solution, not even a means

may the just prevail, in a humane way, worthy of our respect