Aug 29, 2011

A space oddity

The artist Andrew Kolb has ilustrated the famous Bowie song and it looks amazing!
I really hope this gets made into a real book ^^
Free PDF file




Jul 9, 2011

Film:Heat

"Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner."

I've been watching some Micheal Mann films lately and so far heat is my favorite.
It's an action movie but not the cliché of a testosterone and explosion filled action film. No annoyingly fast montage or explosions all over the place. It has an excellent cast : Robert De Niro AND Al Pacino (+young Natalie Portman !) and a great director of photography.
I especially loved the scenes at night in MCcauley's apartment with a wonderful view of the ocean.

The story is rather simple : Neil MCcauley is a career criminal with a love for big heists.
When a job goes wrong he is hunted by diehard cop Vincent Hanna(Pacino) . While Hanna is closing in on the criminals MCcauley wants to pull off one last big score...


The apartment with ocean view.

Jun 6, 2011

One Love Roller Dolls

I had the best Fresh meat day ever this sunday with the One love roller dolls ! No kidding :D.


I first read about roller derby about a year ago on Will Wheaton's blog ,
I thought the sport looked awesome but had no idea that you could play it here in Belgium.
So when I saw articles appearing in the newspaper about a Belgian roller derby team in Antwerp I was so exited that I decided I absolutely had to try this sport.


A bit nervous but very exited I went to the long awaited Fresh Meat day.
After the welcome and the getting the gear on it was time for our first training.
Because it was most people's first time on traditional roller skates we mainly concentrated on learning how to stop , fall and turn. The turning and falling weren't a problem but damn those stops are hard :p. And after a few games we got to play a simplified roller derby game,which was the most awesome thing ever.

I think I'm hooked to this awesome sport & fantastic team , can't wait for the next training (tomorrow).

a group picture of that day :

May 26, 2011

Spirit

just read this on the Nasa website :

"PASADENA, Calif.
NASA is ending attempts to regain contact with the long-lived Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, which last communicated on March 22, 2010. "
full article

The spirit landed on mars in 2004 for a 3 month mission , but three months became 6 years . They lost contact with the little robot on 22th of march 2010 , chances are big the machine didn't survive the last hard martian winter

Aww poor robot , it kind of looks like wall-e and xkcd made a comic about spirit a while back:
(click for bigger version)

May 23, 2011

Kiff

A few months ago when the last of my pet mice died , my grandfather bought me a hamster (he didn't like mice).
I choose a hyperactive teeny-tiny Roborowski dwarf hamster, the smallest and fasters of all hamsters.
At first it was impossible to take any pictures because she was so fast and terrified of the camera but now I finally managed to take a non-blurry picture.
So I present you : Kiff (named after the green squishy thing from futurama)

May 19, 2011

the movie challenge completion : first and last movie you have watched


first movie you ever remember watching :


I'm not sure about this but I think it's snow white.




Last movie you watched:

Yesterday I saw blade runner again, I love the whole look of the film and how they styled the big rainy city. Favourite scene has to be Roy's speech right before he "dies".

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I’ve watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those … moments will be lost in time, like tears…in rain.
Time to die"

May 12, 2011

day 27 : movie with your favourite villain

Villains are awesome, and this is a tough choice but I'm going for a more unconventional approach of a villain here :
Unbreakable - M night shyamalan ,
with Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Price

I loved his speech at the ending of the film :
"In a comic, you know how you can tell who the arch-villain's going to be?
He's the exact opposite of the hero, and most time's they're friends, like you and me. I should've known way back when. You know why, David?
Because of the kids. They called me Mr. Glass."


May 11, 2011

Day 26: Movie you're most embarrassed to say you like

Titanic :D I've must have watched it 10 000 times when I was a kid and I still love that movie



plus Kate is awesome

May 9, 2011

Day 24: Movie with your favorite soundtrack

I'm a soundtrack geek I can't just choose one :D really.
so instead of the favourite movie here are my favourite composers :

First and most important : Clint Mansell.

My all time favourite soundtrack composer in the history of ever !
Everybody knows this guy from the "requiem for a dream" soundtrack and more specific from the overused Lux Aeterna.
Don't get me wrong I love lux aeterna I just don't think it's necessary to use it in every ff'n movie trailer.
And the Requiem for a dream soundtrack has other great tunes like "summer hope ouverture" or "conney Island dreaming" or the "ghosts of a future lost".

I also adore the music mansell composed for the fountain,another great Aronofsky film.
without his soundtrack the movie wouldn't be half as awesome as it is now.

And of course moon,a homage to 70's science fiction by duncan jones. This soundtrack isn't as dramatic as the previous 2, but it fits the film perfectly.

some links to grooveshark:

Requiem for a dream:
Ghosts of a future lost
summer hope ouverture
The fountain:
Death is the road to awe
Moon:
We're not programs GERTY ,we're people

2.John Murphy

I only know his "28 days later" soundtrack and I loved it.
In the house-in a heartbeat is my undisputed favourite. this is also the most dramatic scene of the film( to bad I couldn't find it on youtube).
in the house-in a heartbeat
full 28 days later album






honourable mentions:

-Hannibal soundtrack by Hanz zimmer
-Velvet goldmine soundtrack (various artist:placebo, thom yorke,brian eno and more awesomeness).
- Deathproof soundtrack (various)
- Across the universe : the actors did some really good Beatles covers
- most of the Disney films : no explanation needed

Day 23: Movie that inspires you

honestly , I have no idea :/

May 4, 2011

Day 21: movie with your favourite actor

Priscilla queen of the dessert :D
With Hugo Weaving as Mitz/Tick, but weaving is great in any movie.
I've been a fan of Weaving since the matrix and I think it's great he has a great diversity in his role-picking : Elrond (lotr) agent Smith(matrix) - V- Mitzi - Abberline(wolfman)...


Gladiator
With Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus, because Commodus is awesome :D and so is Phoenix .

and last but not least :
Hopkins in the hannibal trilogy but I'm saving that one for the villain list

May 3, 2011

day 20: movie with your favourite actress

V for vendetta by the wachowski brothers,
with natalie portman as evey.


Memento by christopher nolan,
With Carrie-Anne Moss as Natalie

May 2, 2011

and the hero of today is...

Obama for dissing fox news AND showing a bit of the lion king :D
= epic fucking win... eat that Trump


Day 19: Film that made you cry the hardest

This has to be the bubble (buah-ha)
I was a teary mess when I left the theatre after watching this one

The story is about 3 friends in Tel Aviv , Noam Lulu and Yali who share an appartment together and live a fairly bohemian life. Tel Aviv is called a "bubble" because it's consirered as a sort of peaceful "island" within a tumultuous region.
Noam and Yali are both gay and in the film Noam gets into a relationship with Ashraf a Palestine he met while doing his army duty at checkpoint Nabulus .
I can't tell to much about the story without spoiling the whole film but the ending is really tragic.



the flatmates & ashraf

From the second of May ...

...Reminds me of the summer time
On this winter's day

See you at the bitter end !

Happy placebo day everyone !

May 1, 2011

Day 18: Film that is your guilty pleasure

Wanted











I only love this movie because it looks so good visually(+ Jolie), the story is really lame :)

day 17: least favourite book adaptation

Has to be Harry potter 6. It was horrible ... the book was MUCH better

Apr 29, 2011

Day 16: Favorite book adaptation

one flew over the cuckoo's nest

both the film and the book are just amazing

Apr 28, 2011

day 15: favourite play adaptation

Titus by Julie Taymor,
an adaptation from Shakespeare's dramatic play : Titus Andronicus.

It's a pretty dramatic film about the Roman general Titus Andronicus (Anthony Hopkins)
in the beginning of the film he returns from from war , he won but lost 21 of his sons, to make up for this loss he sacrifices the oldest son of the queen of the Goths Tamora.
From this point on Tamora begins planning her revenge.
When the emperor dies Titus is offered the job but he refuses ,appointing Saturninus as his replacement. Saturninus chooses Tamora as his wife...

What follows is a grotesque plot about revenge causing the general to slowly lose his sanity. What I love about this film is the great acting from Hopkins and the anachronisms , very special.
some screenshots:

new emperor Saturninus and his wife Tamora
the explosive opening scene
The general's daughter Lavinia after being raped and mutilated by Tamora's sons

Apr 27, 2011

Day 14: Favorite documentary

Jesus camp :
In this documentary we look behind the scenes of the "kids on fire" camp in devils lake(lol the name), ohio. This is a camp for born again Christian children who are sort of "drilled" to be an "army of god". Really really creepy stuff :o. I say it's a must see but you'll be shocked(and want to slap becky fisher in the face).

Apr 24, 2011

day 11 : favourite kids movie

The lion king !
this is without any doubt my all time favourite Disney film in history.



bad-ass scar sings be prepared

day 10 : favourite foreign film

Instead of a favourite film I'll give you 2 from my favourite "foreign" director : Kim ki duk

1.Hwal(The bow)



It's the story of a young girl who lives on a boat with an old fisherman who plans to marry her as soon as she turns 17. It's a very slow poetic film without any dialogue , but the whole setting of a boat is beautiful.

Trailer:


2.Bom Yeoreum Gaeul Gyeoul Geurigo Bom (spring,summer,fall,winter...and spring)


This film is divided in 5 parts (the 5 seasons from the title), and is a sort "the circle of life" thing.
In Spring we are introduced to a young Buddhist apprentice and his master who live on a floating monastery in the middle of a lake(beautiful scenery). One day the apprentice ties a little rock around a fish, a frog and a snake so the animals have trouble moving around which amuses the apprentice.
His master sees this and that very night he ties a heavy rock around the young boy. the next day he must search for all 3 animals and set them free from the rock but only the frog is still alive...
In the next seasons we keep following the boy in different stages of his live trough the seasons.

Just like the bow this film doesn't have much dialogue but is visually stunning,
the story is a bit more complex with a lot of Buddhist references.

trailer:

Apr 20, 2011

day 8: favourite thriller

I don't know if it is generally classified as thriller or horror but I'm going for Hannibal.
Altough silence of the lambs is a genuine masterpiece I feel that it's sequel Hannibal is often undervalued.
Yes the movie has a diffrent Clarice Starling but Julianne moore is a worthy replacement for jodie foster.
Another great thing about this movie is that we see Dr.lecter in his natural environment (Florence, Italy) doing all kinds of awesome things : giving lectures on Judas, being a stylish bastard , becoming the curator for a library and of course hanging a man by his intestines.
Last but not least there is also the great soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. They created and aria especially for this film : "Vide cor meum" it's the text of Dante Alighieri's sonnet "A ciascun'alma presa" from "La vita nuova".

I wanted to post the opera scene but it's removed from youtube :/

Apr 19, 2011

a new goal in life


I have found a new goal in life ^^

day 7: favourite animated feature

Wall-E & toy story 3
Normally I prefer the classic hand drawn animations but pixar movies are an exeption.


day 6: favourite horror

The omen !
Of course I mean the original version from 76 and not the shitty remake from 2006.
I love the old horrors more anyway,recent horror films have no suspense and mostly are a mix of tons of fake blood and lame sound shock effects.
I first saw this as a kid and found it really creepy (the scene at the old cemetery ! or the death of the priest ....)
I just loved the freak accidents XD

original trailer.

Apr 16, 2011

day 5 : favourite action

I'm not a big action fan but I do like the whole Die hard franchise.
My favourites must be the 1st and 3th film with hans(alan rickman) and later simon (jeremy irons) gruber as villains.

trailer for the first Die hard.

Apr 15, 2011

day 4 : favourite drama

this one is difficult,
"drama" is such a wide genre.
There are tons of films that spring to mind, but when you say drama the first director I can think of is Darren Aronofsky.
I love his films and the fact that clint mansell is his regular sound track composer just makes it even better.
His most recent film "black swan" just blew my mind in cinema .
I went to see it twice already and I can't wait for the dvd release.


in this video we see Natalie Portman dancing the part of the black swan, one of the strongest scenes of the film IMO.

Apr 14, 2011

day 3 :Favourite comedy



Futurama : benders big score
I loooove futurama , the series and films ^^ and this one is my favourite

Day2 :Least favourite film


this has to be the most disgusting film I've ever seen

Apr 12, 2011

Day 1: Favourite film

this one is easy :D



The matrix of course ,
I have been a loyal matrix fan for almost 10 years now.
When I was 13 I knew the whole script by heart. I love the whole trilogy (+ the animatrix and the videogame) , although even I have to admit that the sequels are nowhere near the original( especially reloaded was a disappointment).

Movie challenge

since I gave up on the 30 day picture challenge it's time for a new 30 day thing.
I found this one on : graveyard picknick.
This one should be easier to complete :) .

Day 1: Favorite film
Day 2: Least favorite film
Day 3: Favorite comedy
Day 4: Favorite drama
Day 5: Favorite action
Day 6: Favorite horror
Day 7: Favorite animated feature
Day 8: Favorite thriller
Day 9: Favorite musical
Day 10: Favorite foreign film
Day 11: Favorite kid's movie
Day 12: Favorite love story
Day 13: Favorite chick flick
Day 14: Favorite documentary

Day 15: Favorite play adaptation
Day 16: Favorite book adaptation
Day 17: Least favorite book adaptation
Day 18: Film that is your guilty pleasure
Day 19: Film that made you cry the hardest

Day 20: Movie with your favorite actress
Day 21: Movie with your favorite actor
Day 22: Movie you wish you could live in
Day 23: Movie that inspires you
Day 24: Movie with your favorite soundtrack
Day 25: Movie with the most beautiful scenery
Day 26: Movie you're most embarrassed to say you like

Day 27: Movie with your favorite villain
Day 28: Movie with your favorite hero
Day 29: First movie you ever remember watching
Day 30: Last movie you watche

Poyekhali!

with this words the russian cosmonaut was launched into space on april 12th now exactly 50 years ago.
Aboard the Vorstok 1 Yuri gagarin was the first human to journey into outer space and thus defeating the americans in the space race.


It is no secret that I'm fascinated with astronauts and space travel.
Events like this are really special... no, mythical is the right word.
I'll probably never get into space myself, but reading about other peoples journeys makes up for that a tiny bit.

Apr 8, 2011

I heart weasleys

because lyrics games are always fun :D
stole this one from graveyard picnics blog

1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag 15 friends.
5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.
6. Have Fun!

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY? Silly boy blue (Bowie)
2. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF? utopia (goldfrapp)
3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? we are the dead (bowie)
4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? Pearly (radiohead)
5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? special K (placebo)
6. IF SOMEONE ASKED 'ARE YOU IN LOVE?' WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ?Two ladies (cabaret OST)
7. WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO? Virtue (Hans zimmer (hannibal OST))
8. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (radiohead)
9. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? Let my home be my gallows(Hans zimmer (hannibal OST))
10. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? Airbag(radiohead)
11. WHAT IS 2 + 2? The travel agency (Final fantasy x original soundtrack)
12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? Walk with me (moby)
13. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? a better future (bowie)
14. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? Lucy in the sky with diamonds(across the universe OST)
15. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? chick habbit (Deathproof OST)
16. WHAT SONG WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? drunk in the mat mobile (pogo)
17. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? under pressure(bowie)
18. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST? Horse pills (dandy warhols)
19. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?black eyed (placebo)
20. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? uranium rock (the cramps)
21. WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW? breakdown(red crayon aristocrat club)
22. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? tangled up in plaid (Queens of the stone age)
23. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS? I heart weasleys (ministry of magic)

Mar 21, 2011

Feb 16, 2011

day 14

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

I've thought about it but I really couldn't choose a person.
of course loosing family or friends is hard,
but life goes on.

Feb 15, 2011

Feb 14, 2011

Feb 13, 2011

Day 11

day 11 a picture of something you hate

difficult one but let's say : vinaigrette.

Day 10

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with.




The Biomedica party crew ^^

Day 9

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.




first one is Gitta
I've know her for about 3 or 4 years now and she's one of the people I can always talk to when needed.


second is Sofie, I haven't' seen her in ages and this blog message made me think about getting in touch with her again. We used to spent hours talking on msn and she always had the best advice.

Day 8

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.




XKCD ftw

Feb 7, 2011

Day 7

a picture of your most treasured item.




The dandy warhols setlist from "lokerse feesten" and an autographed Dandy ticket from "les ardentes".
I've been a dandy fan since I was 10 or 11 years old and I had to wait really long to see them live.
When I finally got to see them they signed my ticket*yay* and the show was just amazing.
the second time they played "not if you were the last junkie on earth" ( which is my favourite song) and I was able to get a setlist.
So now I'm impatiently waiting for a third concert and in the meantime the setlist and ticket have conquered a place above my desk.

Futurama

I started watching futurama again , damn this show is too good.

(Screencap from the episode "godfellas", where bender accidentally gets catapulted out of the ship and wanders trough the universe.)

Feb 3, 2011

Day 6

a picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day



Any astronaut will do, I'd love to spend one day in space.

Feb 1, 2011

Dentist tomorrow...

don't panic , don't panic, don't panic ....

Day 5

a picture of your favourite memory :




This picture is taken last year on the annual Biomedica ski-vacation. This was one of the best holidays I've ever had. They organise a ski trip every year after the January exams are over and it's one of the things all Biomedica members impatiently wait for the whole year.
Too bad I can't join them this year because now I've changed schools I have classes I must attend during that week :/.

Jan 31, 2011

Day 4

Day 04 - A picture of your favorite night.



A night in berlin

Day 3

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favourite show.


Oh my ... this is really difficult for a tv-show junkie like myself,
instead of just choosing one I'll give you a few of my favourites :




criminal minds:
Definitely one of my favourites.
Normally I don't like police series... at all,
but I like this one because it's not over the top (like csi miami.. yikes) and has a "scientific" approach, although I'm not a big fan of profiling.
The cast is awesome and I prefer the Gideon area.


The big bang theory:
yay for the nerds :)


futurama :
I just love every single episode.
It's like the simpsons in the future... what more can one wish for ?

Jan 28, 2011

Day 2


Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been close with for the longest.

This is a picture of Jolien & Cateau in Berlin. It was our first holiday together and now we make a trip every year during summer vacation because we're just a perfect travelling trio.
I've known them since I was 15 or 16 but we really became good friends after starting university together.
I'm not on this photograph because I took it, shockingly I couldn't find a picture with all 3 of us. Apparently we're not the picture taking kind of people,something we must work on during our next holiday !

Jan 27, 2011

Day 1




1)I'm a tea addict , camomile is currently my favourite flavour.

2)I love making lists, I even have a list book crammed with all kinds of lists.

3) Ancient Rome and Greece have always fascinated me, as a kid I loved reading about the culture, the emperors and all the myths and legends. Last year I finally saw Rome and all the monuments, it was just overwhelming and now I also want to visit Athena.

4)David Bowie is my hero, as a tribute I have the Aladdin Sane lightning bolt tattooed on my leg.

5)Secretly I want to become an astronaut.

6)Or a superhero.

7)I love film...a lot. my favourite director of all time is Stanley Kubrick , a clockwork orange and 2001 a space odyssey are, in my opinion, his best work.

8)I used to be very afraid of deep water, but since this year the fear disappeared completely and now I love swimming pools ,very strange.

9)I make a lot of spelling mistakes, yay for spell check.

10)Wide landscapes have a mesmerising effect on me , I really want to visit a desert once.

11)I want to travel al around the world, and I really want to try couchsurfing at least once.

12) I'm terrified of the dentist, I have an appointment next week and I'm already stressing about it. I can't stand the sound of the instruments

13)I love sci-fi , robots,comics, gaming and astronomy... yes I'm a geek.

14)I've been a vegetarian for almost 4 years now and I don't miss meat at all but sometimes I still have a craving for cheeseburgers from mcdonalds.

15)I plan to join a roller derby team this year.