2004-12-28

Indian wisdom for 2005

An old Indian chief sat in his hut on the reservation, smoking a ceremonial pipe and eyeing two U.S. government officials sent to interview him.

"Chief Two Eagles" asked one official, "You have observed the white man for 90 years. You've seen his wars and his technological advances. You've seen his progress, and the damage he's done."

The Chief nodded in agreement.

The official continued, "Considering all these events, in your opinion, where did the white man go wrong?"

The Chief stared at the government officials for over a minute and then calmly replied : "When white man found the land, Indians were running it. No taxes. No debt. Plenty buffalo. Plenty beaver. Women did all the work. Medicine man free. Indian man spent all day hunting and fishing. All night having sex."

Then the chief leaned back and smiled ... "Only white man dumb enough to think he could improve system like that."

(thanks to Maya)
Read: the Long walk - Slamowir Rawicz
Reading: de Botton, Alain Status Anxiety
Listening to:
House of the Flying daggers soundtrack
Amélie Poulain soundtrack
Site of the week:
http://www.hooverphonic.com/

2004-11-22

Music Lists

For those of you in dire need of wedding planning music lists

America is sorry (1/2 of it anyway)

Reading: Richard A Clarke: Against all ennemies
Listening to: Franz Ferdinand


More links of intrest:

American garden Museum

Belgian Sailing Competitions

The world's best cocktails

Explorers' Web


2004-11-04

Camille Laetitia Johanna Maria

Elke and I are very pleased to announce you the birth of our daughter Camille on November the 4th 2004 at 1554... 3,290kg and 49 cm...
We are overjoyed....
Please stay tuned at

http://www.wacondah.com/camille/

2004-10-31

Osama does it again...

just when you think you've got it all figured out and expect Bush to pull a rabbit out of his hat in a grandwizardly tour de force resembling Gandalf the White...

OBL shows his grey beard again in a televised show, that even the worst Hollywood producer and the sickest screenwriter couldn't, wouldn't have dared to come up with...

You may ask yourself: if I were Osama, would I miss out on the magnificient opportunity to f*ck around with the Americans' minds 2 days before the tightest election race in the history comes to an end... and
- threaten with more terror
- mock the POTUS
- mock all Americans
- generally make all extremists worldwide laugh in their beards.... wherever they may hide...

After September & March 11th, and after Beslan, after the mutltiple Indonesian bombings, the Iraq kidnappings.... do you feel that the world has become a less safer place, and that Gov't the world over are acting accordingly... Or is it just a figment of overexposure in the media and did this stuff happen all the bloddy time?

I still have a case of "Westmalle triple" sitting here predicting a Bush victory, an escalation of violence and decades of economic regress in front of us... or not?

2004-10-30

First results are in: Bush wins the election ...

Just kiddin' of course, but hey, on Tuesday we're gonna find out?
Or will we?

Nen bak trippel hier zegt dat de zittend president er niet uit gebonjourd wordt, en als het toch een te nipte overwinning wordt, dat zal er wel geprocedeerd worden totter dood.

Timothy Garton Ash compared American and European politics: see for yourself:

USA: hollywood production about sex; lies, war, terrorism, more sex, more war - two leading characters that often appear as caricature of themself, both extremely rich and sions from well-to-do families, on a quest to become the most powerful man in the universe ... and to keep oil prices low.... for all Americans....

Europe: Arte Franco-German-Huangarian coproduction involving hundreds of unknown D-rated actors, that speak 25 or more different languages: subtitles from the beginning are guaranteed. Plot usually involves the 567th amendment around article 34.bis in paragraph twothousand of the multilateral cultural diversity protection treaty... : best action line: the opening of water bottles at the beginning of plenary meetings... Not a single European cares.


2004-10-28

Neal Stephenson & The Baroque Cycle: FAQ

If you haven't heard about this author, chances are you're missing out on one of the best vibes in literary wonderland. Read this and be ... enlightened.

Reading: The Stars my destination, Alfred Bester


2004-09-24

A message from God...

Color synthAxis Web Dev Tool

Awesome tool for color coding: it's a real beaut

Debunking the myth: Intelligence & Mozart Effect:

Human Intelligence: Mozart Effect

Dogs can sniff out cancer, say researchers

Man's best friend -
Only 4 moods, but so much love, and such a wide array of skills....

1. happy, whow! a dog in heat, a walk in the park, leash-ready yippie yippie; a scenic drive, ... FOOD! lotsa....
2. sad: none of the above...
3. angry-pissed-off, you've been trespassing mofo and I'm gonna have a piece of U for lunch
4. indifferent (what cat, I don't even pretend to see the cat)

And yes, today confirmed, dogs can sniff out cancer...

It's a great day for the Canine Folks, finally recognized for their tremendous and unsuspected talent!

2004-09-17

the 401st post... flash fun

After coming back from Jakarta, this huge bomb blasted away the Australian embassy last week: quite a nerve-wracking experience, if considering that we'd pass through that street every day...

  • Reading: Corinne Maier - Bonjour Paresse: Absolute Must Read *****/*****
  • Listening to: Beethoven Mondschein Sonate
  • Thinking: http://www.mit.edu/~mikeho/media/endofworld.swf
  • Thinking: in MindManager MindMap Mindsets about shortterm and longterm future plans
  • Last Moving Picture: "The Man Who wasn't There..." with BB Thornton, by the Coen brothers: excelente! *****/*****: beautiful black and white shots, memorable scenes with the lawyer Riedenschneider in jail. Billy smokes, and he smokes and he smoke: the uber-cool Humphrey Bogart lookalike really hits it home
  • Last picture: my next car / eat this hummer
  • Last visited awesome website: http://www.ferket.com/jvlt

2004-09-13

"Not Sustainable" Oprah Winfrey Gives Cars to Audience

Talk show queen and major influence on the collective consciousness of the American people, Oprah W. gave major indication on the opinion Americans have of their contribution to global warming... Bugger off, they just want their cars...

On her latest show, O. gave away more than 200 cars to inaugurate her 19th season on TV.

This is what we call sustainable consumption...

Calling out loud to all stations: BOYCOTT Oprah!

2004-09-07

Valkeniers in het (vernieuwd) Kasteel van Gaasbeek

Kasteel van Gaasbeek - activiteiten: "22-31 oktober: Vlaamse wetenschapsweek

Tijdens de Vlaamse wetenschapsweek worden de roofvogels in de kijker gezet. Een valkenier vertelt over de wereld van de prooivogels, hun jachtmethodes en de geschiedenis van de valkerij. Dit alles zal ter plekke geïllustreerd worden met demonstraties door getrainde roofvogels

Programma:
Zondag 24 oktober
14.30 u: Roofvogeldemonstraties voor het grote publiek op het voorplein van het kasteel.
Toegang: gekoppeld aan kasteelbezoek

Dinsdag 26 en donderdag 28 oktober
10.30 u: Roofvogeldemonstraties voor het grote publiek, groepen en scholen.
Toegang: gekoppeld aan kasteelbezoek
Informatie en reservering: 02-531 01 30

2004-09-06

7 - Number of Arab Linguists fired by US Army for being gay...

  • 0 Number of minutes that President Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney, the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, the assistant Defence Secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, the former chairman of the Defence Policy Board, Richard Perle, and the White House Chief of Staff, Karl Rove ­ the main proponents of the war in Iraq ­served in combat (combined).
  • 130 Approximate Number of countries (out of a total of 191 recognised by the United Nations) with a US military presence
  • 4 Rank of the United States among countries considered to be the greatest threats to world peace according to a 2003 Pew Global Attitudes study (Israel, Iran, and North Korea were considered more dangerous; Iraq was considered less dangerous).

Did a Boeing 747 really hit the Pentagon (Flash)

Serendipity

Story about a guy who cuts his arm off... http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200409/aron_ralston_1.html

Story about a guy who stands by as Chernobyl explodes http://www.newscientist.com/opinion/opinterview.jsp?id=ns24611

Richard Dawkins and "What use for religion?": http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/dawkins_24_5.htm

Get yer World War IV on: http://globalsecurity.org/military/ops/world_war_4.htm

World War IV: How It Started, What It Means, and Why We Have to Win






Tarantino's Blog?

So much for the hype; Q's online blog...


Reading: The Sceptical Environmentalist - Bjorn Lombog

Thinking: In order to reach the Millenium Development Goals for water and
sanitation set by the United Nations in Johannesburg 2002; we'll have to connect
825.000 people to sanitation networks and 581.00 people to water distribution
networks; every single day. In fact, this will never happen... More worrysome:
coverage ratios in Africa are declining now...


Travelling: Jakarta - Singapore - Paris - Brussels - Knokke - Paris
Last picture: Slum-dwellers in Jakarta (report on WorldPeaceRadio soon)


2004-08-24

Paris Liberation 60year celebration

Tomorrow, big festivities to celebrate the surrender of the German occupier.
American and French armored brigades will parade around the city. Will try to get some pix up.

New U2 Album: November 2004

U2 album n°11 is to be published this fall, with a first single hitting the air waves on Sept. 23 "Vertigo".*

2004-08-23

JachtInfo - portaal voor jacht, visserij en wildbeheer

Dé ingang voor alles wat met Jacht en natuurbeheer te maken heeft in Vlaanderen, de Koninklijke Sint-HubertusClub van België, HUBERTUSVERENIGING VLAANDEREN v.z.w.- DE VLAAMSE JAGER

Middenvakrijders veroorzaken files

Iedere weggebruiker zal zich wel al aan hen geërgerd hebben: de bestuurders die hardnekkig en aan een gezapige snelheid op het middenste rijvak blijven rijden, ook al is er rechts plaats zat. Volgens een onderzoek van de Britse automobilistenvereniging RAC veroorzaken die middenvakrijders veel files. Het bericht stond in The Sunday Times en The Observer. De RAC concludeert dat die middenvakkers de andere bestuurders dwingen om plots te remmen en zowel links als rechts in te halen. De zogenaamde spookfiles, die aan geen enkele aanwijsbare reden zoals een ongeval of een defecte wagen kunnen worden toegeschreven, zouden aan hen te wijten zijn. Binnenkort komen er waarschuwingsborden langs de Britse wegen om deze kwaal tegen te gaan.

> uit De Standaard


Reading: My Dog Skip - Willie Morris
Listening to: Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
Last Movie: Goodbye Lenin - about a boy who tries to keep his mother ignorant about the re-unification of Germany. She suffered a stroke on the evening of the downfall of the Berlin Wall and spent 8 months in a coma. The boy and his family try to stage as many events as possible, convincing her ultimately of the survival of the DDR as a haven for WDR refugees. Very touching, very nice photography. Best scene: a staged "influx" of West-germans in East Berlin, who run away from materialsim... commented by a crazed East-germand reporter! Best line: "Inevitable as a Russian tank"
Thinking: about an interview on France Culture friday night. According to the interviewee the world today is sick: His (quite Nietzchean) diagnosis:
  • the victory of materlialism, and materialistic ideology, with the loss of artisans, lack appreciation for the beautiful handmade object (ikea-ism, conrad-ism...), langage degradation, loss of respect for one another (nobody says hello anymore) loss of respect for "l'altérité de l'autre" (Levinas), loss of ecology (nobody knows his/her place in the ambient, environment, hierarchy of nature: more often than not, the only criterium is instant consumerism and techno-mystification of reality turning man into
  • this leads to nihilism, and the new integrists, and the creation of the new gods
  • solution: enthousiastic individualism. Reminds me of "een filosofie van het enthousiasme". Profound expression of one's individualism, by refusing to be Kant-categorized ... leads to World Peace and a Greater Understanding...
  • our appreciation: !


Travelling: Brussels - Paris - Singapour - Jakarta this week; then reverse order but adding Knokke
Last picture: Bruegel clouds in a Bruegel landscape and this post on WorldPeaceRadio

2004-08-20

Back-country Safety: a brief primer


10 RULES OF THUMB
you shouldn't forget while travelling in back-country
1.Minimum-impact attitude: haul out your trash and leave your camp-site the way you found it or better. Arrange something nice for the next visitor (pile of dry "DEAD" wood,...)
2.Informsomeone of your plans. Pre-fix and Execute a telephone-date to make that "all is safe"-call.
3.Awareness. - Prepare yourself for an overwhelming experience. Be attentive to wildlife (never feed nor touch it), respect all fauna and flora, never destroy habitats. Take care of eachother and of yourself (e.g. check for frostbite, dehydration, sunburns, fever, hypothermia or ticks).Report incidents to the authorities (e.g. bear-attacks, forest-fires). Participate in surveys.Respect other/fellow travellers and their need for privacy but be prepared to help them out: show 'em the way to do it if they ask for it, point out interesting things (cliffs, rapids, bear activity, buenas vistas).Always minimize the risks involved in certain activities (don't chop down big trees or dive from high cliffs. Be carefull swinging those axes).Avoid getting lost (if you do, don't panic): if travelling in group, others will notice your absence and come looking for you; if travelling alone, mark the direction you've taken and preferably travel downstream- you'll (eventually)end up in the civilized world.
4.Bring along a positive attitudesense of humour and group-enhancing capabilities. TALK to eachother.
5.SHARP- Everybody should at all times carry a safely-stored and razor-sharp knive (or Tool/ SwissArmy, Leatherman) and fire-making gear (filled Zippo, light-anywhere matches, lighters will do the job). A whistle comes in handy if you lose sight of each other. Be carefull with the water you drink (boil if necessary, carry purification ustencils).
6.WATER - When travelling over water, make sure there are enough Life-vests available. According to the last regulations, every "boat" should also be outfitted with a lenghty rope and a flashlight.
7.MAPS & TRUE NORTH - Bring acurate and UPDATED maps. Make sure you and every one else in your group knows how to read them. A compass (and the skill to use it)is necessary. Make sure you know the deviation of TRUE NORTH.
8.Emergency/ Hazards/ Peligro - Emergency first aid kit. Also provide some basic pain-relievers. Prior to departure, make sure everybody is in fit-to-work condition and check all medical histories (carry the necessary ant-dotum to allergies...). IF someone catches a severe and unstoppable cold: abort your trip, it might develop in something worse. Make sure you know the kinds of hazardous plants/animals you may/will encounter (poison ivy, snakes, killer bees, lunatic bears, runaway axe-murderers, hysteria generalizada, fata morgana) and make sure you know how to deal with them.
9.Clothing/Equipment - Make sure you bring the right clothing, food (water if necessary) and equipment for the right environnement.. Summer storms in the moutains may evolve into snow blizzards. It may freeze for several days in the midst of summer (It happened to me!). General knowledge of available weather-reports and prevailing winds are essential. Always bring rain-gear of the highest quality. Make sure that at all times 1 set of dry clothes is stowed in a waterproof bag.
10.That finishing touch - Remember that equipment is vital: but only if brought in pristine working-condition and with the knowledge to use it. (A mobile phone often doesn't work out in the woods, batteries dry out, tents are only water-sealed if cared for with the right maintenance...). Therefore: bring plenty of DUCT-TAPE. There is almost nothing that can't be fixed by it.Also take some spices with you. The generally accepted idea is that pasta-like foods RULE (they weigh the least and will provide enough without taking up too much of your space and time. Spicing it up will make everything a lot easier to swallow.A nice camera (waterproof), a deck of cards and 1or 2 books will keep everybody happy.
Last but not least: keep a trip-log of all your activities, movements, encounters, shedded tears and laughters. And distribute it afterwards to all of your expedition members.A thing of beauty....
Postscript & disclaimer: wacondah declines all responsibility for damage, injuries, death, harm, fun, .... that may or may not rtesult from the correct or incorrect implementation of this advice...

Loesje BE

internationaal creatief collectief....

Sebbe Godefroid - Finn yachtman

Sebbe is rapidly loosing his outlook on a top3 score. Too bad, but hey, he can still prepare 2008...

More sailing links

http://www.clubracer.be/

2004-08-19

Mark Eyskens

snel een bezoekje gedacht aan een duizendpoot, Mark Eyskens, Minister van Staat, politicus emeritus, professor, filosoof, vrijdenker, vrijbuiter en begaafd tot soms geniaal causeur. De moeite van het bezoeken waard, zo zijn zijn "zolder" schilderijen best grappig!

En hij verdient een pluim omdat hij er zo weinig "gezever" op zet... dit in schril contrast met de grote massa politikasters onder ons, cf. bijvoorbeeld http://www.freyaweb.be

2004-08-18

Canoeing in Belgium !

yeah, some enthousiastic dudes spreading the love for canoeing!
Bill Mason has followers

Famous Belgians - An incomplete List

Ever wonder who was the inventor of the stroboscope? Right... J.Plateau...
And who discovered the Big Bang Theory? Right: G.Lemaître....
Not to forget Vesalius, Ortelius, Merckx, Urbanus, Sax, Hergé, Horta, de Gerlache, Egmont, de Ghelderode, Yourcenar, Simenon, Huysmans, Maeterlinck, Brel, Halliday & co...

But you wonder why Lynn Wesenbeek or Jan Theys are on this list....

Did you know Audrey Hepburn was born in Brussels?

The Future is now: predictions for the coming 25 years

Ever wonder what the future will look like? Feel like or how we'll all be hardwired?
check out the +25 predictions for the coming 30 years...
For 2005: our favourite...

After cancelling the elections in 2004, because of very unlikely but possible terrorist atacks, George W. Bush sends troops into Syra, the USA bomb Damascus for a week and promise to bring freedom, peace and democracy soon. Meanwhile, the war in IRAQ goes on. Isreal still does not pull out of Gaza and threatens IRAN with their A-Bombs. 200.000 People die in Sudan because of famine.The EU finally decides to invite Turky to become a member, which starts riots in many contries. The EU parlament objects the decision but the commission does not care as usual. At the end of 2005 the first elections are won with the promise not to let Turky into the EU. Right wing parties in France, Belgium, Austria, Spain, Italy, Great Britain, Sweden, etc. gain more the 10%.Tony "the poodle" Blair still is re-elected, but assasinated by radical muslims.

2004-08-17

Tuinen van Free

Meer in het Siciliaans maffia clan gevoel: een beek(je) reclame kan nooit geen kwaad...

En zoals het een koele bootsman betaamt, een gast met wie ge hoge golven kunt temmen, ook al is er geen wind en drijgt de zandbankbranding u mee te sleuren: een ondernemer uit Vlaanderen

en moest het nu nog nen echte pajottenlander zijn, 't ware perfect

2004-08-16

KOBE PROESMANS, percussion from Belgium

Zoals het past in de siciliaanse maffia style: een familielid: Kobe Proesmans,
en 't is nog ne Pajottenlander ook!

Rock (allez Salsa!) on Kobe...

2004-08-12

More -unexplained - .info: Tunguska

http://www.unexplained.info/directory/aliens_and_ufos/tunguska

http://www.bvalphaserver.com/article9619.html

We Are not Alone? Alien Spacecraft Derbis discovered in Tunguska

This strange article appeared in De Standaard today at 1503 on authority of AFP and INTERFAX: scientists seem to have recovered an alien artefact from the 1908 Mystery Explosion in the Siberian Tundra.... (longtime thought to have been a meteore impact)

http://www.s-d-g.freeserve.co.uk/tunguska.html

to be continued ... of course


Russische vorsers ontdekken resten buitenaards ruimteschip
15:03:24
MOSKOU - Russische wetenschappers zeggen in het Siberische Toengoeska brokstukken van een buitenaards ruimteschip te hebben gevonden, zo heeft het Franse persbureau AFP onder aanhaling van het onafhankelijke Russische persbureau Interfax gemeld. Het tuig zou in 1908 op die plaats zijn neergestort.
In Toengoeska vond op 30 juni 1908 een grote ramp plaats, die één van de grootste wetenschappelijke mysteries van de twintigste eeuw werd. Er zou een enorme steenklomp zijn ingeslagen op enkele kilometers van de gelijknamige rivier. Dit veroorzaakte een schokgolf, honderden kilometers in het rond. Tweeduizend vierkante kilometer Siberisch woud werd vernietigd.
Maar zekerheid over wat er precies is ingeslagen, bleef een mysterie.
Wetenschappers van het (publieke) Fonds voor het Ruimtefenomeen Toengoeska zeggen op de site nu de resten van een buitenaards ruimteschip te hebben gevonden, alsmede een steen van vijftig kilo die zij voor analyse naar de stad Krasjonarsk hebben gestuurd.
Het Franse persbureau AFP spreekt van een ,,vaisseau extra-terrestre", ruimteschip dus. Het Engelstalige Interfax gewaagt van ,,alien technical device". Het Britse internetpersbureau Ananova heeft het, onder aanhaling van Interfax, over een ,,alien craft".

Inside Al-Qaeda's Hard Drive

Al-Qaeda's hard drive discovered and analyzed...
... and other tips for the travelling terrorist

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200409/cullison

Too bad you need a subscription...

If you look up "Tips for the travelling terrorist" on Google, the only thing you end up with are the so-called critical-infrastructure programmes by foreign governments.

Somebody should have put the following tips up a long time ago...

e.g.

- shave the beard
- don't wear those outrageous robes
- stash the explosive belt


A lot more interesting is typing in "terrorist tactics"...
check out some links

Jihad & the 4the Generation Warfare doctrine

Al-Qa'ida's Combat Doctrine

"No one can make you feel terrorized without your consent" - Eleanore Roosevelt
Yeah, right!

The proverbial taxi driver' takes a potshot at explaining WW III

A View from the Eye of the Storm:


The 22 member countries of the Arab league, from Mauritania to the Gulf States, have a total population of 300 millions, larger than the US and almost as large as the EU before its expansion.
They have a land area larger than either the US or all of Europe.
These 22 countries, with all their oil and natural resources, have a combined GDP smaller than that of Netherlands plus Belgium and equal to half of the GDP of California alone.
Within this meager GDP, the gaps between rich and poor are beyond belief and too many of the rich made their money not by succeeding in business, but by being corrupt rulers.
The social status of women is far below what it was in the Western World 150 years ago.
Human rights are below any reasonable standard, in spite of the grotesque fact that Libya was elected Chair of the UN Human Rights commission.
According to a report prepared by a committee of Arab intellectuals and published under the auspices of the U.N., the number of books translated by the entire Arab world is much smaller than what little Greece alone translates.

2004-08-11

New M.Mann Film "Collateral"

Heard it thru the grapevine, even better than HEAT?
This time, Tom Cruise replaces Pacino and de Niro: expecations are high - yet it seems difficult that they'll be played off the screen by Cruise...

Reading ... Listening

"The curious incident of the dog in the night" - Mark Haddon - buy it

Notice: "The Da Vinci code" before everybody else has told you the plot

Listening to the latest cd's by

  • Cragi Armstrong - Piano interpretations of his film scores
  • The Thievery Corporation

24 Rhesus Monkeys escape from bioresearch facility

No, this is not the movie 28 Days Later


2004-08-10

Follow-up on 9/11: National "ready" Month

Coming to you in theaters and streets nearby: Terrorists strike the USA, topple the existing systems and force a shadow governement to go underground: are you ready? are you afraid yet?

2004-08-04

9/11 damage report

A report to Congress by the Government Accountability Office in February 2003 provided a powerful account of the magnitude of the 9/11 attacks' effect on the U.S. financial system and the "heroic" response of industry leaders. Total damage: An estimated $40 billion.

That's a lot of monney...

Now, isn't that more important to ponder than who screwed up when and how and why? And shed some light on how we can take good steps to prevent this shit from happening again. Loss of lives is worse than all the monney in the world

IS the world ready for the next wave? cf. all the reports in the media this week (based on 1 year-olde info/disinfo... coincidentally after the Demo-convention. In the intelligence business: 1 year old info/disinfo amounts to trying to predict incoming ballistic missiles, by examining the Rosetta stone under a microscope...

Is the never-ending yellow-orange-red ratrace turning us into scared mice (in Dutch consumensen)?



Workplace vocabulary

SEAGULL MANAGER: A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.

SALMON DAY: The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die.

XEROX SUBSIDY: Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from one's workplace.

PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE Thef ine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it work again.

ADMINISPHERE: The rarefied organisational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the "adminisphere" are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve This is often affiliated with the dreaded "administrivia" needless paperwork and processes.

OHNOSECOND That minuscule fraction of time in which you realise that you've just made a BIG mistake (e.g. you've hit 'reply all')

BLAMESTORMING. Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.

ASSMOSIS. The process by which people seem to absorb success and advancement by sucking up to the boss rather than working hard.

PRAIRIE DOGGING When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm (office filled with cubicles), and people's heads pop up over the walls to see what's going on. (This also applies to applause from a promotion because there may be cake.)

MOUSE POTATO The on-line, wired generation's answer to the couch potato

SITCOMs Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage - What yuppies turn into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids or start a "home business".

STRESS PUPPY: A person who seems to thrive on being stressed out and whiny.

(thanks Q)

F*cking Peter Gordon

Another smart spam scammer tried to contact me today,
the fight against spam continues, and so we'll post some juicy details to this mofo... See hows he reacts.

Spam him back on pagordon2002@libero.it
Extracts: "sooo tired of these same old frases, who falls for this nowadays?"

I need your strong assurance that you will never let usdown, me and a key
bank official who is deeply involved with me in this business. I guarantee that
this transactionwill be executed under a legitimatearrangement that will protect
you from any breach of thelaw. I will destroy all documents of
transactionimmediately we receive this money leaving no trace to anyplace.


Read an article in Wired on the weakness of the internet/communications networks & infrastructure. Freightened by the rogue states' intention to wage "asymetrical warfare" on us?
the answer is: we should start to bring some of these spammers to justice. And please note that your grandmother and her computer can do a lot more damage... by not securing their systems....
Estimates:
20% of online users has been scammed, average loss amounts to 1.000€.

2004-07-30

GHISLENGHIEN GAS BLAST

"GHISLENGHIEN" - henceforth known as the site of one of the greatest industrial accidents in Belgium.
Apparently a gas leak erupted into gigantic explosions and massive destruction, killing 14 and wounding over 200, earlier today.
Authorities seem to indicate it was an accident.

It makes you wonder,
soo many people risk their lives everyday; fireman, police officers, doctors and nurses, ... electricity and gas, and oil and water workers.

We express are sincere condolescences to the families of the victims.

First reports indicate the horror
"it's like a war zone"
"scorched earth raining down"
"bodies catapulted all over the place"

http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=48&story_id=10077

Comment on social engineering software

History tells us that the most powerful networking communities have always been closed, not open. Have you ever seen the freeMason's throw open-house drinks parties?

And even more: the most influencial people stay off the radar: privacy is after all still a very valuable asset...


We are a menace to Al Qaeda just because of who we are

Article published in the New Yorker,
you should read and consider the implications.



Among several interesting ideas: reasons why Europe was attacked on March 11th...

“The future of Islam is in Europe,” he said. “It has a huge Muslim population. Either we train our Muslims to become modern global citizens, who live in a democratic, pluralistic society, or, on the contrary, the Islamists win, and take over those Muslim European constituencies. Then we’re in serious trouble.”

“The Internet is the key issue,” Gilles Kepel, a prominent Arabist and a professor at the Institut d’Études Politiques, in Paris, told me recently. “It erases the frontiers between the dar al-Islam and the dar al-Kufr. It allows the propagation of a universal norm, with an Internet Sharia and fatwa system.”

Muslim immigration is transforming all of Europe. Nearly twenty million people in the European Union identify themselves as Muslim. This population is disproportionately young, male, and unemployed. The societies these men have left are typically poor, religious, conservative, and dictatorial; the ones they enter are rich, secular, liberal, and free. For many, the exchange is invigorating, but for others Europe becomes a prison of alienation. A Muslim’s experience of immigration can be explained in part by how he views his adopted homeland. Islamic thought broadly divides civilization into dar al-Islam, the land of the believers, and dar al-Kufr, the land of impiety. France, for instance, is a secular country, largely Catholic, but it is now home to five million Muslims. Should it therefore be considered part of the Islamic world? This question is central to the debate about whether Muslims in Europe can integrate into their new communities or must stand apart from them. If France can be considered part of dar al-Islam, then Muslims can form alliances and participate in politics, they should have the right to institute Islamic law, and they can send their children to French schools. If it is a part of dar al-Kufr, then strict Muslims must not only keep their distance; they must fight against their adopted country.

2004-07-28

Weapon of Choice ...

The greatest music video, by Fatboy Slim, - ever - starring a great actor:

we give you Christopher WALKEN, directed by SPIKE JONZE

Zen Gardens

3 Laws Unsafe - Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics

Can't help wondering where we're headed,
scared by the future?
Read the laws of Robotics and participate in the ongoing debate

Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics:
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or the Second Law.

Michael Moore's Blog & More of the same sauce

The guy is blogging at last....

Anyway, Fahrenheit 911 review:
- scary movie, a bit on the demagogic side evidently, but yet a true classic. Schoolkids all over the world should see it. And their parents, and the dictators who screw them over..

Anyway,
as for the influencing of the outcome of the elections in the USA later this year:
M.Moore's movie might help to topple Bush, but beware non-US citizens, with Kerry, it will be more of the same, but with kinder words, Ketchup's sauce along the following lines:

Bush - Texan BBQ style sauce: We're gonna invade you mothafuckers... Bring'em on, LEt's roll, we'll hang'em high... (after scary look in the camera then turns 90° and mutters to cameras ... "now watch this swing"....)

Kerry-Curry and Ketchup from a vegetarian politically correct NYC healthhouse: Can we please invade you and get you to taste the wonders of ketchup?... No, okay: then we're gonna bomb you back to the fucking stone age, I'm a 'Nam Soldier, man, I saw to many of my friends die, so that I won't stand American interests being harmed....


"Encore un de ces riches élitistes de gauche du Massachusetts qui prétend être un homme du peuple ! Impayable !" - Le Monde
In the same article: Kerry is denounced as a member of the Skulls and Bones society...

Do you really need more comments?

Map of Parisian Bloggers

2 blogs worht mentionning:


-> http://desperatedad.blogpsot.com: this guy is writing to his unborn child... Pretty funny

-> "Anglaise" is a member of the Parisblogs webring, so as a courtesy I salute you hear, Anglaise, congratulations on your Guardian review. Check us out also on http://www.paname-ensemble.com/paris-fr/php/metro/index.php on lign 9...

2004-07-20

In de verzekering tegen de grote dorst

One of the Pajottenland's great and famous bars (if it weren't for the name... In the insurance against great thirst)

2004-07-16

Bobby Fischer's Pathetic Endgame

The Search for Bobby Fischer \ ... is over

Bobby Fischer was detained in Japan by immigration police, trying to get out of the country. One of the world's - if not the world's- best -ever chess champions, Bobby was the subject of great speculation and controversy.

Read the articles here
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/16/international/asia/16CND-FISC.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3900793.stm

And movie reviews here
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6303114946/103-7114247-4685449
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0108065/

Wiki reference: B.Fischer

Belgium Ranks #6 on th World's Human Development Index

Human Development Index

1. Noorwegen
2. Zweden
3. Australië
4. Canada
5. Nederland
6. België
7. IJsland
8. VS
9. Japan
10. Ierland


167. Tsjaad
168. Democratische Republiek Congo
169. Centraal Afrikaanse Republiek
170. Ethiopië
171. Mozambique
172. Guinee-Bissau
173. Burundi
174. Mali
175. Burkina Faso
176. Niger
177. Sierra Leone

2004-07-02

R.I.P. Don Vito Corleone & Colonel Kurtz

Marlon Brando dies at 80

A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man.
Some day, and that day may never come, I'll call upon you to do a service for me.
I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse


I've seen horrors... horrors that you've seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that... but you have no right to judge me. It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror. Horror has a face... and you must make a friend of horror. Horror and moral terror are your friends. If they are not then they are enemies to be feared. They are truly enemies. I remember when I was with Special Forces. Seems a thousand centuries ago. We went into a camp to inoculate the children. We left the camp after we had inoculated the children for Polio, and this old man came running after us and he was crying. He couldn't see. We went back there and they had come and hacked off every inoculated arm. There they were in a pile. A ile of little arms. And I remember... I... I... I cried. I wept like some grandmother. I wanted to tear my teeth out. I didn't know what I wanted to do. And I want to remember it. I never want to forget it. I never want to forget. And then I realized... like I was shot... like I was shot with a diamond... a diamond bullet right through my forehead. And I thought: My God... the genius of that. The genius. The will to do that. Perfect, genuine, complete, crystalline, pure. And then I realized they were stronger than we. Because they could stand that these were not monsters. These were men... trained cadres. These men who fought with their hearts, who had families, who had children, who were filled with love... but they had the strength... the strength... to do that. If I had ten divisions of those men our troubles here would be over very quickly. You have to have men who are moral... and at the same time who are able to utilize their primordial instincts to kill without feeling... without passion... without judgment... without judgment. Because it's judgment that defeats us.


His reputation: "Hey, man, you don't talk to the Colonel. You listen to him. The man's enlarged my mind. He's a poet-warrior in the classic sense."



Al Qaida: the end of the European Cease-Fire...

As of Today, the terrorist nutcases declare the ceasefire in Europe "void".
We should brace for new and even more murderous attacks, and the consequences are "entirely our own responsibility"... (claim by the al-Masri Brigades in a Londonistan newsgazette)

Is this related to the wave of attacks on Jews in Antwerp by people of Maghreb origin?

Another Day in Hell - Another Dutroux Arrested?

Earlier this week, police and authorities arrested Mr. Fourniret, who was denounced by his wife for allegedly killing more than 8 people, 6 being children. Of French nationality, the guy selected his victims along the Franco-Belgian border, burying them in different sites. A couple of weeks after the Dutroux trial (convicted of 4 child abductions and murder), this new development turns a different spotlight on the "network" theory/conspiracy.
Fourniret allegedly bought a castle with the war-funds of a French Communist terrorist group called "Action Directe", responsible for some serious attacks in Europe in the 80ies...

WTF?

Keywords: serial killers

2004-07-01

Yoshikuni Michiyo

Ever wondered what your name was in Japanese?
(good fortune country) (three thousand generations)

A mon commandement, ...démerdez-vous!

Quelle est la différence entre un train qui déraille et un ingénieur qui déraille:
"le train s'arrête"

God Bless the Lost Duck

flippedcracker.net :: only walk up

Another typical Internet phenomenon: how stupid pictures and everyday experiences all of a sudden grasp everybody's attention
--
Maybe you've happened across an internet phenomen that's spreading like a big white man's forest fire. The pictures of a mother duck walking over a grill, losing her siblings and standing over that grate with a sorrowfull expression in her eyes. The photographer explains (and he's not a fireman on duty in NY...)

2004-06-28

The J.S. Bach Home Page

Educate yourself, get away from TV and learn some stuff about the greatest composer of all times, including a full-fledged list of Bach-Werke Verzeignisse...

The J.S. Bach Home Page

2004-06-24

More on PPT: The Torturous World of Powerpoint

Feld Thoughts: The Torturous World of Powerpoint

beyond bullets

beyond
bullets
:

"Your Visual Biography"


seems like a great exercice... Represent your life on 1 PPPT slide with 5 icons on it...

Powerpoint for the masses.
The past has been powerpointed, the future will be bloggerized?

If every corporation adopted a new rule:
PPT >10 slides are banned
All PPT should be accompanied by a written document...

that would be progress...

Also note: the average human can only swallow up 4 ideas at the time...

2004-06-23

Jihad Watch

Damn, another hostage brutally executed in the Middle East.
You'd expect disgusting pictures/videos to show up anytime soon and, of course, a rush to those wensites who put them up.
This site tracks the development of Jihad Inc. world-wide.

In the words of M.Eyskens on Sept.11: WW IV has begun ?

2004-06-22

Al-Qaida may 'reward' American president

...with strike aimed at keeping him in office

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Bush told he is playing into Bin Laden's hands: "Bush told he is playing into Bin Laden's hands

SpaceShip 1 Calling Earth

Alan's Mojave Airport Weblog

First Non-governmental spaceflight achieved.

http://eecue.com/articles/index.php?artid=55

http://www.boingboing.net/2004/06/21/spaceshipone_blog_pa.html

Official Site

Today's Front Pages

Today's Front Pages

All frontpages of the world's leading newspapers. Too bad for Belgium they're only listing La Libre, and no Flemish journal

Bob's Animal Fights

index

Find out about snake-devouring mongoose...

Europe vs the USA



This is a disturbing document; among other things - you'd be scared to read that Belgium, if incorporated into the USA would rank among the 6 poorest US States....

The USA is richer than Europe...
The odds are,Europe will be a long time catching up with the USA
Many European countries have lower per capita GDP than the majority of states in the USA
High incomes coupled with low taxes mean high private consumption in the USA

2004-06-21

SETI, ET, EBE & The Disclosure Project

The Disclosure Project - Briefing Points: "The Disclosure Project is a non-profit research effort that has, since 1993, been identifying top-secret military, government and other witnesses to UFO and Extraterrestrial events."

The 6th astronaut on the moon comments: "we've had visitors..."

The Post-Detection SETI Protocol

keywords: Extraterrestrial Biological Entities, EBE, E.T., SETI, ...

We got him (or not...?)

Osama's capture imminent?

Al Quaida is targetting Westerners all over the arabian peninsula.
They're starting to blow up the oil-pipes.

More and more pressure on the Hause of Saud

The timing is perfect, or do we have to wait for even more gruesome "home-videos" of executions?

2004-06-18

My Dog Skip (2000) - tearjerker, but great

My Dog Skip (2000)

Saw this movie on plane a couple of years ago, couldn't imagine myself crying like a 10 year old, touched by this coming of age drama. The Jack Russell Skip is just great...

This classic story of a boy and a dog growing up in small-town America by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willie Morris is "written with the gentle wisdom of an E.B. White and the eternal youth of a Huck Finn"

IgoUgo Travel Community

Real Travellers - Honest Advice

2004-06-17

Le Vatican publie le dossier noir de l'Inquisition

Le document de 783 pages retrace l'histoire de ce chapitre douloureux, qui court du XIIIe au XIXe siècle. L'Inquisition naît de cette traque de l'hérésie qui obsède la chrétienté médiévale. Sous le pape Grégoire IX, en 1233, elle devient institution permanente, sous la forme de tribunaux confiés à des religieux dominicains et franciscains qui siègent dans les couvents et les palais épiscopaux.

Après un "temps de grâce" permettant au suspect d'abjurer, l'aveu est obtenu par la torture. Les condamnations, prononcées lors de cérémonies publiques, comprennent la prison ou le port de croix jaunes sur les vêtements, le pèlerinage obligatoire - dont la longueur est proportionnée à la "faute" -, la flagellation ou la confiscation des biens. L'hérétique qui refuse de se repentir, ou le récidiviste, est condamné à mort, puis livré à la "peine de feu", le bûcher.

Un inquisiteur général est nommé, le célèbre Thomas de Torquemada, prieur du couvent de Ségovie, qui enverra 2 000 personnes à la mort en quinze ans de procès, au rythme de 6 000 par an. Parmi les plus célèbres victimes de l'Inquisition figurent Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), partisan des thèses de Copernic, brûlé à Rome, et Jérôme Savonarole (1452-1498), qui périt sur un bûcher à Florence.

Sous la poussée des idées libérales, les tribunaux de l'Inquisition ont été abolis en Espagne en 1832. Mais, au Vatican, la congrégation de la Sainte Inquisition a siégé jusqu'en... 1908, transformée en Saint-Office, également de sinistre mémoire, avant de devenir la Congrégation pour la doctrine de la foi.

copyright Le Monde

DJ Shadow

DJ Shadow

Natuurbeleving - Vogels en Zoogdieren van West-Europa

Groene (!) propaganda Natuurbeleving - Vogels en Zoogdieren van West-Europa

Wakka + Reislijst

U ooit al eens afgevraagd wat ge zo allemaal moet meenemen op reis?

Lijst bovendien samengesteld met wat men noemt "online collaborative software"

Wacondah also developped a compilation of tips on backcountry trekking...

BletchleyPark - Station X - O.U.O.S.V.A.V.V

BletchleyPark - Station X:
Experts from the top secret World War II code breaking base of Bletchley Park have been called in to the historic estate of Shugborough, in an attempt to solve a 250 year old mystery. Bletchley Park will lead efforts to crack a baffling cryptic inscription etched onto one of Shugborough's eight garden monuments of national importance, rumoured to point to the location of the Holy Grail."


More info on astonishing sculptures, hidden codes and enigmas http://elonka.com/kryptos/

The mystery involves a cryptic encryption: O.U.O.S.V.A.V.V
and allegedly it is wrapped in Templar, Sion and Freemason lore...
It is posted on a mirrored replica of Poussin's "Les bergers d'Arcadie II": on the painting "Et in Arcadia ego" is a reference to Death being present even in Paradise....

Factotum revisited

http://www.wacondah.com/ft/factotum_1.htm

The World's First Mobile Phone Virus: this is not a hoax

"The virus 'called Cabir - appears to have been developed by an Tchecho-Slovakian group specialising in creating viruses which try to show "that no technology is reliable and safe from their attacks"... until now it has had no harmful effect.' Cabir infects the Symbian operating system (runnning on a lot-millions- of Nokia phones, and spreads via bluetooth."

Whoah: how long 'till the first wave of phone-worms beaming away your location to counter-intel agencies...

http://slashdot.org/articles/04/06/15/2052227.shtml?tid=100&tid=126&tid=137&tid=172

http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/epoc.cabir.html

Keywords: mobile phone virus, 29a, CABIR

2004-06-16

The rich are gettin' richer -> Get your million $ war on!

At the end of 2003, there were about 7,7 Million individuals roaming this planet with one common denominator: each of them was worth 1 Million Dollars in financial assets (not counting their immobilized assets such as houses...): their total worth increased by 7,7% compared to 2002 and together they weighed 28,8 TRILLION dollars. At this rate, their total worth will reach 40 Trillion dollars by the year 2008.

These guys only carry 10% cash, the rest is being invested in all sorts of financial instruments ... and that paid off well, from the first time since the dot-com-crash.

Most of these millionaires live in Europe and the USA.

More surpisingly: there are about 70.000 individuals with assets estimated at (at least) over 30 million dollar each.

It makes me think about an old friend who, staring from his hot tub at the sunset over a splendid Northern Lake, whispered the following words:

"Another shitty day in Paradise...."

Then he sipped his Rum 'n' Tim's and firmly declared

"I really wonder what the poor people are doing"

Power Cuts: the French Public company EDF's way to defend public utilities

This afternoon around 15.00 zulu, there was a power failure in Paris. EDF, the public state-owned utility comany that has a monopoly on the electricity market cut off Paris from regular power supply.

It's called: protesting against the upcoming the July 1st liberalisation of the French power market.

Whoah, we were in the middle of a videoconferencing session with US colleagues, and everything went suddenly dead: a blackout!

After reestablishing contact, scant remarks from overseas...

This could really prove to be a long hot summer.... ;-)

2004-06-15

G (spot) mailing

As a "Blogger", now testing Gmail, the latest free email service to hit the web (still in beta, but wtf?) 1 gig of free email-space, more than you could ever fill up. Wacondah.com will try it out and report back on the anti-spamming mechanism: wacondah @ #no#gmail #spamkiller# . com

Revampng Wacondah.com: invitation

Her-smeden van deze website,
to re-ironize
la refonte
re-fundacion
herwieder-grunden

open invitation to those who are willing to contribute in creating a multi-writer's blog (not block...): send an email or leave a message

post a message here

Social Networking Software Blog

Whoah, the personal "node" is here; latest fashion in cyberia where people interconnect through social software... All at a mouse-click away, you get in touch maffia-style: the friends of my friends' friends are the ennemies of my friends'ennemies...

see also http://www.orkut.com

2004-06-14

Vanuit het telbureau

Ik ben gisterenavond tot tegen 10 uur aan het tellen geweest, een gezellige boel en een leuke oefening in directe democratie, je voelt je (tijdens die paar uren dan toch)verbonden met de honderduizenden anderen in Europa die ook aan het tellen, hertellen, nog eens hertellen zijn.

Een paar opmerkingen voor de vuist

- de vooruitgang van het Blok zal niet te stoppen zijn: bij de volgende gemeenteraadsverkiezingen krijg je een pak zwarte burgemeesters. En bij de volgende Vlaamse verkiezingen wordt het Blok wellicht de grootste partij in Vlaanderen? Ook in Brussel en Europa gaat het Blok vooruit, meer dan vooruit zelfs...

- regeringsvorming: een heel mooie patstelling van jewelste die de traditionele partijen toch maar mooi verdiend hebben na 15 jaar wanbeheer (of zelfs langer). Gisterenavond op TV waren de tussenkomsten van bijzonder laag niveau (met str*nt naar elkaar smijten, de burger nog meer schrik aanjagen. Wat de uitslag in België betreft: PS gaat ontzettend vooruit en Di Rupo (of Di Rupette zoals hij in de Walen wordt genoemd) kan nu pas echt de Vlamingen gaan gijzelen... Het gekonkelfoes zal lelijk om zien zijn, en de burger vaart er slecht bij. "Antwerpse toestanden" - daar zitten we in ons welvarend, "warm" en "bang" Vlaanderen niet echt op te wachten.

- signalen en tekens aan de wand: CD&v + NVA/VL Blok (dus de zogeheten "zwarten") kan voor het eerst ooit eens conservatief gaan besturen ,de staatshervorming voltooien, de paarse miserie van "alles gratis" herstructureren, Dehaene tot Voorzitter van de Commissie brengen, de mensen gerust stellen met een gezonde mix van goed beheer en méér belastingen en vooral de al veel te lang verwachte hervorming van de sociale zekerheid doorvoeren... om nog maar te zwijgen over eindelijk Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde te splitsen... Hoe onwaarschijnlijk het ook moge klinken: bovenvermelde coalitie is de enige die krediet zou krijgen van de burgers, want procentueel gezien goed en ruim verkozen. Edoch, het zal er nooit van komen...

- Groen haalt haar drempel, maar ik moest meewarig grinniken.... De crypto-communistische alter-mondialisten werden gered door een actie van BV's. Maar iedereen kijkt toch maar mooi weg als Jos GYSELS in zijn BMW X5 aangevlamd komt (gisterenavond voor het hoofdkwartier, op de VRT gezien). Ook een interessante reactie gehoord van de Limburgse Groenen die zich de "vrije groenen" noemen...

- de VLD krijgt op haar kas. Wat had je anders verwacht. Het gezicht van Karel De Gucht stond op onweer, zijn ogen gevuld met tranen. Woest haalde hij uit en hij sloeg om zich heen.

- en Piqué in Brussel zag in de vooruitgang van het Vlaams Blok in Bxl geen bedreiging: oef ze gaan ons niet kunnen saboteren... Jamaar Jamaar, valt er eigenlijk in Bxl iets te saboteren? Het draait daar sowieso al spaak. Verder had Picqué zijn hoop gevestigd, samen met al Brusselaars op een "LABIELE regering" - een lapsus van formaat, nochtans is stabiel in 't Frans bijna homofoon...

- Europa blijkt voor de Europeanen steeds meer de ver-van-mijn-bed show en circustent te zijn. Ik zag een bulderende Staes (die zijn énige Groene zetel behoudt - en dan nog nipt ook), een sipkijkende Nelly Maes (Spirit, ex-Volksunie) die buitengebonjourt werd (ik zat hier 5 jaar en 9 maanden iets (?niks?) te doen, een tevreden "Redder des Vaderlands" Dehaene en een pronkende Annemie Neyts die al pienter zat uit te rekenen dat de 3e VLD zetel wel eens ... naar haar zou gaan. De opkomst voor Europa was in elk geval zeer zeer laag en de resultaten duiden op 1 evolutie: de Europeanen gebruikten hun Europese stem om hun eigen regeringen een opdonder te verkopen.

Als conclusies:

- me dunkt dat we in Vlaanderen naar een schone propere tripartite gaan, die zo steriel zal regeren, ondanks de "mooie", maar vooral brave tussenkomsten van Freya e.a. Kwestie van la Raison d'Etat niet te veel op 't spel te zetten, anders krijgen we binnenkort misschien wel eens federale verkiezingen, en als het Blok daar goed scoort hebben we Di Rupette als Premier - wat eigenlijk feitelijk nog niet zo slecht zou zijn, want dan gaan de Vlamingen hun ogen missschien écht open...

- in Brussel blijft alles "op zijn antwaarps", en Johan Demol verkondigde al: "spijtig, maar de volgende keer zijn we, dankzij de vorderende verloedering, veroverende islamisering, etcetera, écht wel de grootste ... en het zijn de Franstalige Brusselaars die nu en masse voor ons stemmen..."

- en Europa: dat wordt grappig, of treurig. Quote: in het Europees Parlement is het de individuele inzet die telt... en niet die van partijen..." Welaan dan; ik hoop dat de Europese volkstribunen zich goed zullen blijven inzetten: er is immers nog werk aan de winkel, wat zeg ik ...de winkel van politiek bewustzijn bij de Europese burgers staat er nog niet eens.... En ik zal het stemgeheim maar bewaren en niet openbaren wat er op al die ongeldige Europese stembiljetten stond geschreven...

Hopelijk hebben jullie ervan genoten! En hopelijk mogen we de volgende keer allemaal elektronisch stemmen...

In het telbureau waren we er overigens, over de partijgrenzen heen, allemaal van overtuigd dat we BHV moeten gesplitst krijgen. Volgende keer tellen we die franstaligen niet meer... en verklaren we ze ...allemaal ongeldig...

En voorts, ik ben geen "bange" Vlaming - maar een Vlaming, en ik hoop dat de CD&V ook genen bang heeft...

2004-06-11

vocabulary nonsens

arcane wisdom and technology, illuminati, sion templar conspiracy, freemason, quadrature du cercle, nostradamus was an agent provocateur, belle de jour ,sentient beings, ICE, cryptography, viral armageddon, Ormus, masonic rosecrucian device, nautonnier, malachi, dossiers secrets de la bibliothèque nationale, orval prophecy,novus ordum seculorum

6/11: We defy you ... terrorists...

Sure, yeah whateva,
who els'is waitin' for it to happen?
Are you taking the metro/train/plane/hoovercraft, space shuttle today?



9/11, 3/11 .... 6/11: it does fit a pattern, not?

keywords: "one more attempt to clutter up Echelon"

Imperial Dogs

Funky remixing of great movies: Star Wars meets Reservoir Dogs...

2004-06-08

Communication and Intelligence of Parrots

Parrots, and other talking birds, have fascinated mankind since Aristotle. Once thought to be mere mimics, these affable, entertaining and often quite lovable creatures are now known to possess remarkable intellectual abilities. Since 1977, Dr. Irene Pepperberg's studies in Animal Behavior, and Animal-Human communications have provided insight into the capabilities of these animals to talk and to understand.



"What I've tried to explain to parrot owners is that what they have in a cage in their living room is a creature with the sentience of a four- to six-year-old child. I try to convince them that you can't just lock it in a cage for eight hours a day without any kind of interaction."


http://web.media.mit.edu/~impepper/

Frisbee links

Remember "Ultimate" frisbee, a strategic non-violent hippie game involving two teams, and a flying saucer?

The United Nations Story - Kofi A. almost succeeded in censoring it...

A fabulous book about peacekeeping ... in the field


Keywords: UN @ work, Kofi Annan & censorship, hell on earth

2004-06-07

Zeppos Molen "wind" monumentenprijzen

De Gerestaureerde Zepposmolen werd dit weekend gevierd met de overhandiging van 2 fantastische prijzen:

1. de Europa Nostra Award
2. de Vlaams-Brabantse monumentprijs.

Het erfgoed in het Pajottenland wordt gerespecteerd en vooral... met veel liefde verzorgd!



D-Day revisited

A day-by-day review of the frontlines. http://www.normandiememoire.com/jour.php

Chirac & Schröder had a big abrazo
Bush stated: the USA would do it again...
Chirac called the USA "our eternal friend"...

It was really sad to note that some scumbags vandalized the graves of WWII US soldiers: "rapatriez vos déchêts"...

Reflexion: how would the French have coped with 60+ years of Nazi-German occupation?

Reflexion: why wasn't Berlusconi invited?

Reflexion: And why couldn't Schröder visit the German graves?




2004-06-03

Bilderberg 2004 meeting: the ultimate conspiracy

50 years after their first meeting the Bilderberg conference members will meet early June in Stresa, Italy.

An elusive club of multi-billionaires, monopolists, bankers, industrialists, royalty and heads of state, the Bilderberg group, chaired by Vicount Davignon, meets once a year to discuss a global agenda of "current affairs" (including oil, Iraq, US upcoming elections, Al Qaida,...). There are no press conferences, and all members are sworn to secrecy.

The press exagerates the "secrecy" and "conspiracy" aspects of these meetings, however it is noteworthy that it's probably the most influential club in the world, ... and membership is of course by invitation only

http://www.bilderberg.org/2004.htm

Keywords: Bilderberg 2004

Sailing Activities Resumed

Last week, we put our Cat in the Norht Sea (temp. 12,9°c), took some useful and updating classes and set our course due West along the pier of Zeebrugge Port. Great weather, sunny and mild waves.... Great way to start the sailing season. Check out the webcam

Keywords: Catamaran Sailing, Nacra 5.0, Heist

Catamaran and sailing links

Catlinks
Catacademy

2004-06-01

Give 'em the finger (in their own language)

Ever got stuck on a remote island, and thought people were waving at you???
You were sooo wrong...

But fortunately, here's a way to retaliate: peace through supreme fingerpower

Keywords: profanity, sign language

This day in Music

for all the great music out there

D-Day: 60th anniversary

counting down to the 6th of June, day of the biggest coordinated sea-land (and throw in some air support) invasion in history. Massive military operations are to be commemorated by more than 17 heads of State in Normandy, later this week

here are some links

http://www.ddaymuseum.org/
http://www.dday.org/

Keywords: D-Day, WWII

2004-05-23

20 Sayings we'd like to see on those Office Inspirational Posters

1. Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings...they did it by killing all those who opposed them.

2. If you can stay calm, while all around you is chaos...then you probably haven't completely understood the seriousness of the situation.

3. Doing a job RIGHT the first time gets the job done. Doing the job WRONG fourteen times gives you job security.

4. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

5. Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity.

6. A person who smiles in the face of adversity... probably has a scapegoat.

7. Plagiarism saves time.

8. If at first you don't succeed, try management.

9. Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether.

10. TEAMWORK... means never having to take all the blame yourself.

11. The beatings will continue until morale improves.

12. Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups.

13. We waste time, so you don't have to.

14. Hang in there, retirement is only thirty years away!

15. Go the extra mile. It makes your boss look like an incompetent slacker.

16. A snooze button is a poor substitute for no alarm clock at all.

17. When the going gets tough, the tough take a coffee break.

18. INDECISION is the key to FLEXIBILITY.

19. Succeed in spite of management.

20. Aim Low, Reach Your Goals, Avoid Disappointment.



Keywords: inspirational, quotes

2004-05-21

Spam Fight by Wacondah.com: campaign against P.Prescott (cont'd)

This was our reply..

Dear Mr. Prescott,
Dear Paul,
Yo Dude-man,

i'm so thrilled by the confirmation that I've won 2500000,00 US dollars from the South African governement,
however, since I've been pulled into shenanigans before, I would kindly request that you send me

1/ a digital photograph of yourself
2/ a scan of a copy from your passport
3/ the statutary documents of Interscopefinancegroup.net

You can foreward them on this adress. I do not have time to go surfing to the website, and in any case do not trust uncertified web content. I also inform you that I'm now being assisted by Islas Canarias Lawyers who will aid me in claiming the lump sum ammount. Please reply ASAP, dear Paul, now I must go off to sip some more margarita's

kind regards, Mr. Joder de Mierda (2.500.000,00 USD richer)


--- paul prescott escribió: > ATTN:Mr.Joder de Mierda
>
> Dear Sir, > I acknowledge the receipt of your email > message,hence > acting on the instructions in your claims file with > Reference number PG3-B8 and Batch number GBH-2, I > wish > to inform you that payment of your Claims amounting > to > US$2,500,000.00 has been > certified > by all authorities involved. > Be informed that instruments of payment for the sum > of US$2,500,000.00 to you, is already in our > possession and shall be processed upon meeting the > requirements stated below.

> You are required to fill a "Lottery Winnings Claim > Form" with all necessary details. Follow the link
> below to download the form > http://www.interscopefinancegroupsa.com/lottery.html
> After download, kindly print, fill neatly, and send to us either by fax or as an email attachment.
> You will also be required to pay a fee of USD5,750.00
> This payment is to cover transfer charges, Insurance > of vital documents like prize claim certificate and
> other transfer documents, handling and opening of > account charges.
> Congratulations once more, I shall be awaiting your > filled Lottery Winnings Claims Form.
>
> Truly yours,
> PAUL PRESCOTT,
> FOREIGN DEPARTMENT MANAGER,
> INTERSCOPE FINANCE GROUP.
> PHONE: +27 726907235
> FAX: +27 828675346
> EMAIL: p_prescott8@interscopefinancegroup.net
> WEBSITE: www.interscopefinancegroupsa.com


SEISINT, US company, sells "Matrix" results to Gov't.

According to the ACLU - American Civil Liberties Union (a contradictio in terminis somehow), SEISINT, a California based company that manages the database of potential terrorists of a couple of US States, called ... "MATRIX", handed over the list of 120.000 potential suspects. Criteria to 'get with the programme' are those related to the 911-airjackers...

These guys have no sense of humour...


Keywords: snooping, privacy issues, ACLU, Matrix, conspiracy, freedom of speech

Everest Running

Le sherpa Pemba Dorji, 26 ans, a battu le précédent record détenu par le sherpa Lakpa Gelu, 36 ans, qui avait atteint le sommet en 10 heures et 46 minutes en mai 2003: 8h10 total time to escalate up the mountain.

Then again, Sir Edmund Hillary wasn't impressed: back in the old days, my fella Tenzing Norgay and myself, we climbed around the mountain for 7 weeks... reaching the summit on 29.05.1953. We had to do everything ourselves. These guys, they just run up the mountain, using the facilities in place left by previous expeditions.... Did he make it down yet???

2004-05-19

Watching the Watchers - Spam victims: FIGHT BACK

The following fantastic message arrived today: yakatiyak yak: I'm a millionaire ! (in US$)

Oops ... not yet ...
this is the reply I sent:
We'll keep you updated if replies come through, we're in for laughs...



Hello dear Mr. Prescott, you are so kind, please contact me to tell me how i can collect my great great prize, and then afterwards maybe we can have coffee together in order to celebrate. I'm pleased to inform you that I'm a Spanish citezen from the Canarian Islands.
Now I must go and sip my margarita _ sincerely Mr. Joder de Mierda

for futher references and mail-snatching machines i'm posting his adresses... (hihihi ;-) Am also heavily considering giving this *$$-hole a phone call he won't forget

/////

FROM: THE LOTTERY COORDINATOR, INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT

DEAR SIR/MADAM, RESULTS FOR THIRD CATEGORY DRAWSPROTEA GAMES SOUTH AFRICA wishes to inform you of the results of It'S Promotional draws held on the 1ST MAY2004. We are happy to officially inform you that you have emerged a winner under our Third Category Draws, which is part of our promotional draws. Participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 40,000 names/email addresses of individuals and companies from Africa, America, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Middle East, and New Zealand as part of our International Promotions Program. You/Your company, attached to ticket number 01-87-436, with serial number 61-217 drew the lucky numbers 08, 28, 29, 36, 44, 47 (31), and consequently won in the Third Category. You have therefore been awarded a lump sum pay out of US$2,500,000.00 (Two Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) in cash, which is the winning payout for Third Category winners. This is from the total prize money of US$5,000,000.00 shared between 2 international winners in the Third category.

CONGRATULATIONS!
MR. PAUL PRESCOTT, FOREIGN DEPARTMENT MANAGER, INTERSCOPE FINANCE GROUP.
TEL/FAX: +27 828675346 - EMAIL: p_prescott8@interscopefinancegroup.net

Pajottenland Blues

Okay, so here we go, a new name to the game, a new project for Wacondah.com:
too much bull-shit on the Internet, it's time for some "kwaliteit".
Wacondah.com solemnly pledges to bring you a crazy tour of the Pajottenland...



Dear Guests,

please note the comments feature provided by Blogger has been activated. You can now react instantly to posts and ramblings... Just click on the "comments" tab after each post.


Keywords: Pajottenland, the blues, ...

Bruegelo Vuegel



Bruegel Project Logo

On the road ... with Bruegel

'On the road with Bruegel' is an artistic project starting in the lively heart of Brussels an ending in the Pajottenland, southwest from the capital. About twenty contemporary artists show their works at eight different locations. This route offers some fine views, all of them being references to masterpieces of Pieter Bruegel the Old.


Zomerparcours voert van centrum Brussel naar Pajottenland
Vijftig vogelsculpturen nodigen uit om de weg van Bruegel te bewandelen: van de Kapellekerk, waar de oude meester begraven ligt, richting Pajottenland, waar hij inspiratie vond voor zijn landschappen. Onderweg brengen hedendaagse kunstenaars een hommage.


links:
http://www.bruegelproject.be/
http://www.wegvanbruegel.be


Keywords: Bruegel, Pajottenland, Brussels, the Marollen, contemporary art

2004-05-18

Verbatims

"dans la politique du coup de pied au cul, il ne faut jamais oublier qu'on a tous un pied mais aussi un cul"

"à mon commandement, démerdez vous!"

"C'est vrai que les meilleurs élèves sont toujours les plus cocus"


vocabulaire

PLACARDISER: se faire placardiser, il a été placardisé (promotion horizontale)
Le rôle du PDG

« Le mission du PDG est de plus en plus d’interpréter, de décoder, de gérer les enjeux du pouvoir, en se concentrant sur l’environnement externe. Le PDG doit imaginer le futur de l’entreprise et le façonner dans le présent. Pour cela, il ne doit pas plonger dans l’opérationnel au quotidien et dans l’analytique. Cela prend du temps au détriment de la synthèse. (…) Anticiper l’entreprise à 5/10 ans. Les bons managers démontrent leur capacité à faire des redéploiements stratégiques sans drame »
Gebarentaal voor niet-ingewijden eindelijk online


Psycho-experiment: Standford Prison Experiment: basis for the German movie Das Experiment
http://www.prisonexp.org/


Decapitation of Berg a fraud, staged by the military-industrial conspiracy?
http://www.infowars.com/print/iraq/berg.htm

It seems as though more and more people question this so-called conclusive evidence of Iraq-based Al Qaeda operatives. Who's kidding who?

"Moore" today: Michael Moore presents his latest documentary FAHRENHEIT 911 in Cannes.
Will Moore be able to prevent Bush from re-election later this year?



More random frightening tidbits of seemingly unconnected information

Sarin-grenade found in Iraq... (Did Saddam lie or was it planted by US Special Forces?)
Syrian technicians onboard North Korean Train?

Conspiracy theories are re-surfacing all over the place. Just finished reading Richard Condon's master novel: The Manchurian Candidate... You'd think this is all a figment of your imagination...

Read this: The Background is OIL....

We are all addicts of fossil fuels in a state of denial, about to face cold turkey. - K.Vonnegut



mots-clé: infowar, conspiracy theories, steganogrpahy, Bilderberg, Vonnegut

2004-05-17

Email Blogging made easy

1. Find the nearestbook
2. Find page 23.
3. Find sentence 5.
4. Copy the sentence in your blog, along with these instructions.

"Tous sourirent" - Sandor MARAI "Les Braises"




__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! - Internet access at a great low price.
http://promo.yahoo.com/sbc/
Kurt Vonnegut is alive and kicking...

"One of the few good things about modern times: If you die horribly on television, you will not have died in vain. You will have entertained us."


2004-04-20

Probably the best movie of the year

"Reconstruction" by Crhistopher BOE: Lost Highway, made in Europe

“All a film, all a construction, even though it hurts”.

One comment: Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings has never been used more powerfully: a true masterpiece

review 1
review 2
review 3
review 4


2004-03-25

The Dutroux Trial: a big "farce"?

Launched in the town of Neufchâteau, the pedophile Dutroux is in trial for the sequestration and abuse and murder of 6 children, facts dating back to the nineties.

Although widely believed to be a part of a network, no testimonies have proven so far that this is more than just 1 manipulator-madman operating on the edge of society.

However, a couple remarks:

- Dutroux was able to operate for almost 20 years, staying low under the radar for his gruesome cirmes. Although arrested and imprisoned for car theft, the searches of his houses never revealed the caves he specially built to detain his victims -> only ni Belgium
- Dutroux made a spectacular escape back in 1998 , only to be caught by a forest warden. Public Ennemy #1 escapes from prison? -> only in Belgium
- during the trial a couple of "faits divers":

* they found the key to handcuffs in a jar of salt
* the door of the van transporting PE1 doesn't close properly
* they found a razor blade in the van...???

Is this all staged, is someone really trying to liberate this guy? Or are we all victims of our imagination?

2004-03-22

Coffee Voodoo
Just finished Michael Moore's latest "Dude, where is my country".

After the events of 9/11 and 3/11, it appears that the message from the REM song: "It's the end of the world as we know it..." is picking up some momentum.

Check out this timeline of events leading up to 9/11 and the numerous early warnings you can find between the lines. Especially intersting are the following:

- preemptive assassination of Massoud, the Lion of Pashtun
- inside trading on American Stock (especially the 2 airlines,...)
- Israeli's everywhere: Mossad agents on the scene in NY documenting the attacks. 1 very special-forces dude on one of the planes, assassinated before impact.
- the ghost flights of Bin Laden relatives and Saudi Royals in the hours following the strikes
- the USA refusal of a deal proposed by Pakistan to hand over OBL in the weeks after 9/11....

Does it strike you as odd, that 3/11 happened?

And now.... today at 500 AM local time, Israeli gunships fired 3 rockets killing the famous blind and parapleg. Hamas leader... A Gov't sponsored assassination...

Where is this leading?
World War IV for the next 50 years?

Reporting from Paris

Is it time to put up these signs around our houses???

2004-03-12

NY: 11/09/2001 - 4 planes
Madrid: 11/03/2004 - 4 trains

...

2004-03-10

Macao Dragons!

Back in business after +40 000km in the air, travelling from Buenos Aires, over Paris and Hong Kong to Macao and Shuzai in the PRC.

Confiance prédictive vs. Confiance normative

Selon Locke, la confiance est le lien de la société (vinculum societatis). Dans le monde économique, nous pouvons dire que pratiquement toute transaction commerciale, et plus encore, toute transaction qui se prolonge dans le temps, contient un élément de confiance. Martin Hollis distingue deux formes de confiance, "prédictive" et "normative", selon que l'on attend ou que l'on s'attend à quelque chose. Par exemple, dans le premier cas, je fais confiance à mon pommier car je prévois qu'il produira des pommes et non des prunes. Dans le second cas, non seulement, je prédis que vous me rendrez le livre que je vous ai prêté mais encore j'ai le droit de recevoir ce livre en retour et vous êtes en faute si vous ne me le rendez pas. Les obligations "normatives" ont donc une saveur morale (tu dois, tu devrais, on attend que tu ...) que n'ont pas les simples prédictions.
Si la confiance basée sur la prédiction "pure" est suffisante pour une simple coordination car le comportement de l'autre est uniquement guidé par la rationalité, la prédiction "normative" détient la clé de l'énigme de la confiance. La première me force à vous faire confiance alors que la seconde me donne le droit à votre confiance.

2004-01-15

Mustafa in Court

Read this story from the Reuters Wire: An IMAN convicted for preaching how to hit your disobeying wife... (no comment)

A Spanish court sentenced an imam to 15 months in prison Wednesday for writing a book instructing husbands how to beat their wives without leaving bruises. A lawyer for the Egyptian-born imam, Mohamed Kamal Mustafa, 44, vowed to appeal, telling state radio the ruling was unjust.

The Barcelona court found Mustafa guilty of provoking violence on the basis of gender in his book "Women in Islam," published in 2000. The book recommends that in the case of a "rebellious woman" a husband should attempt "serene dialogue" and if that fails, refuse to sleep in the same bed. If rebellion persists, the woman should be struck in a "symbolic" way and "without excesses," the court order cited the book as saying.

"If one needs to use blows, they should be administered to specific parts of the body like the feet and hands, using a light and thin stick so it will not leave scars or bruising on the body," read an excerpt from the book quoted in the ruling.

In the trial Mustafa argued that much of his advice was based on the Koran, the Muslim holy book.

But the court said today's society was "not the Arabian desert of 14 centuries ago," and ruled that some passages violated the penal code and women's constitutional rights, partly because Mustafa was a prayer leader with influence over people at his mosque near Malaga, on the southern coast.

Spanish media reported that Mustafa would not go to jail because first time offenders in Spain who receive terms of less than 28 months usually have their sentences suspended.

The court also fined Mustafa 2,160 euros ($2,742) and ordered copies of the book to be confiscated, according to the written court order.

The court said parts of the book addressing menstruation, childbirth, makeup and clothing promoted sexual discrimination that was "intolerable and criminally reproachable."

BRASIL...

Wow!

first reactions against the Brazilian effort to copy the new upgraded border security in the USA:
a US American Airlines pilote gave 'em the finger, while being photographed and fingerprinted...
and ... was arrested: goddammit: of course: yeah!
We sure as hell gotta go out there and do the same thing while entering the Us of A...
Spread the word and the files (cf. our post infra "Project American Alien)



photo by Reuters
Random thoughts

Ever-Increasing amount of tagging on publicity in Parisian subway system: some guys are really out to search and destroy the marketeers... Every day you see more of it sprawled all over posters, walls and trains. End-of-days type of environment, just picture th flying newspapers, and bang - you're in a remake of 12 Monkeys

Speaking of movies:
check out the following:

- 28 DAYS LATER: Trainspotting Director attacks end-of-days scenario in the UK, after outbreak of industry-grade test monkeys infected with rage: zombies all over the UK (just like in real life...)

- The ICE AGE: inspiring cartoon feature: we just loved that type of rat/chipmunk on the prowl for his beloved nut...


- DAS EXPERIMENT: a psyhological experiment, putting 24 people in a toy-jail where they have to impersonate guards and prisoners brings havoc and unleashes unexpected sadism, violence and terror...


Final remark: remember the old days when MTV used to bring you innovative music and programs, Beavis and Butthead in prime time, not interpuncted by zillions of commercials. Nowadays, it's swamped with the informecials and big black bad guys doing chicks, coke, and breaking the law, while pumping away some ghetto-blasting music. It seems the only thing those guys preach is: it is okay to run around in hillarious clothing, with big chains around your neck, lounging at the pool where the female to male ratio is 20/1 (all females are to be scantily clad,...)...

This made us think about putting up a list of

ingredients for successful rap video making


1. Make sure your lead singer is big, black, bald and bad, and with EQ and IQ subzero and no taste (for a female rap video: replace the lead singer with a female species (anything goes) and add some male scantily clad dancers, and of course, the 7002 girlfriends all scantily clad.)
2. At all times, make sure that the screen is filled at least up to 40% with naked flesh (human, brownish and "tanned")
3. Tatoos, man, lotsa tatoes, and gold !!!! bracelets, teeth, nipple rings, toe rings, neck chains, nose piercings (and big rocks, just like jenny from the block)
4. Unwearable, unfashionable clothes that display the complete lack of taste and style of the main charachters and the naked support group - as in: show up in this outfit, and you will never find a job. (and get pulled by cops all over the world)
5. Big HUGE cars (some car manufacturers fear and loathe their stylish cars being included in violent clips, others stimulate it: Rolls Royce, Cadilllac, big huge HumVees; Matrixstyle pickup trucks...)
6. The cash displayed is in dollars (very large coupons)
7. Storyborad All girls hang around the lead singer; all they ever seem to want is go to the master bedroom, get naked (all 7 of them at the same time) and wax his body-builded "frame" (as in: normal muscularistation is never gonna get you the typical bisceps and bull-neck, refer to plastic surgery in Hollywood asap...). The storyliune of the main character is something like this: you betrayed me, I'm now the king of the road and the 'hood, i'm gonna bust you up real good, and enjoy martinis with my girlfriends for the rest of my life.
8. You never ever get to see the "band", you only stare at a succession of close-ups of booty, shaking loads of cellulitis, and the ugly black teeth of the big bald bad black guy with an attitude
9. Get a well-known producer: Emninem or Snoop Dogggggggg (if the latter is not involved in porn-production)
10. Learn how not to spell and choose a "name", preferably from the 'hood.

We admit, hard rock or pop videos and/or ballads can be reduced to same tasteless stuff;
our decision: to stay away from t.v. (period!)