TheFabulousJourney

Moving the blog

2009-09-07T18:14:00.002+02:00

It has been ages since I last posted.There is of course reason behind this madness. I am currently in the process of setting up a new project with website and blog called TheFabulousJourney.As it is a pet project I'm spending my free time on this.Which is not a lot.So, TheFabulousJourney as my personal blog is closing. Rants, Ramblings, Reviews and General-Looks-On-Life are being moved to my

Some people...

2008-12-02T15:15:00.002+01:00

...understand what the Fabulous Journey is all about...... oh and yes of course I had to google who the fuck Louis Vuitton is/was. And no, I don't care he is a french fashion designer. Whatever he makes, the guy gets it.

D 0 and no more couting!

2008-11-27T13:32:00.002+01:00

Final day has arrived at the office, everybody is nice :)and I have a ton of worksomething doesnt feel rightI am working my ass of on some projectswhile I am leaving...ah wellthats probably because I'll take these projects with me.

D -1 and counting

2008-11-26T11:44:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I told all about the Big Plan of the Three Pillars. What I didnt mention however is the Other Plan.The Other Plan involves my beloved C. and helping her settle into a life in the cold and wet and damp and... you start to wonder why she wants to come up here to begin with.Anyways the Other Plan will kick off at the same time as the Big Plan. Now don't think that because the Other Plan is

D -2 and counting

2008-11-25T11:38:00.008+01:00

In two days time I will be freeAfter ten years I will be back (released early for good behaviour)So what's the plan? (besides having fun enjoying being free) As of the end of coming thursday my Big Plan to dominate the world will unfold. It will be based on three pillars. All three will start seperately, but the idea is to have them converge in great bouts of synergy ...Pillar the First: will

Missed call in life

2008-11-20T14:20:00.007+01:00

I missed my call in life. I just got the results for my first exam in classical philosophy. I scored 95 out of 100.I think I may celebrate that.:celebrates:So that's them all down from Thales of Milete to Plato. Next stop Aristotle till the neoplatonists.But philosophers are weird. They let the classical period stop around the time of Plotinus. The official reason being that after the first half

Remembrance Day

2008-11-13T11:58:00.005+01:00

As NL was neutral in WW I we don't do November 11th. Instead we have remembrance day on May 4th, the day before Liberation Day. On May 5th, 1945 German occupation forces surrendered to the Allies. Slowly we start to become aware of the impact November 11 has on countries surrounding us like Belgium, France and the UK. Many Dutch people travel south to Ypres to witness the ceremonies.Now, as I am

Time doing what it's supposed to do: going on.

2008-11-05T10:19:00.003+01:00

Do not, just do not, expect some smart and clever remarks and insights on the US election from this blog.Expect mostly sentences that start with zzzzz and end likewise.Yes, yes I watched...I watched it all the way.All the way being till 0600 this morning or sometime roundabouts.Which would be absolutely cool and perfect*IF* I had already been freelancing...... but as I am not - for at least two

Monday Monday (lalaaa lalalaaaa)

2008-11-04T11:00:00.005+01:00

0407 - Turin: wake up alarm call. Lovely C. tells me to sleep a bit more0410 - Turin: second wake up call. C. was serious when she said 'a bit' more (3 minutes! yay)0420 - Turin: getting a cup of tea, packing my bags0435 - Turin: get in the car to drive to Milan0515 - Italian highway: breakfast stop at a roadside restaurant/gasstation 0520 - Italian highway: leaving for Milan0610 - Milan Malpensa

Change is coming... (not just of the Obama-kind)

2008-10-28T12:14:00.006+01:00

Okay, for the record, in case some historian in the far future stumbles upon my blog and writes up a thesis based on my political preferences: I very much support Obama. So there, say bye bye to your PhD research :P (instead you can now start debating if I am serious -for the second record: yes I am-)Not that it matters.Me no american.Me no vote.Go and write some history about that.Now that's

Jacques Brel (R.I.P October 9, 1978)

2008-10-09T10:24:00.003+02:00

Great artists seem to have a habit of dying in October. Today it is thirty years ago Jacques Brel died of lungcancer. Horrible disease.

Edgar Allan Poe (R.I.P October 7, 1849)

2008-10-07T09:54:00.006+02:00

Thy soul shall find itself alone'Mid dark thoughts of the grey tomb-stone;Not one, of all the crowd, to pryInto thine hour of secrecy.Be silent in that solitude, Which is not loneliness- for thenThe spirits of the dead, who stood In life before thee, are againIn death around thee, and their willShall overshadow thee; be still.The night, though clear, shall frown,And the stars shall not look

Happy Eid! Happy Rosh Hashanah!

2008-10-01T14:22:00.007+02:00

*munchmunchmunchmunch*As a true liberal westerner I, of course, don't participate in any fast. Consuming must go on, especially with these highly interesting economic times - the Wallstreet crash on monday was the biggest in history, including 1929 - Anyways, not fasting does not mean that I won't celebrate Eid! Especially not when an islamic colleague started bringing in all kinds of maroccan

I am back

2008-09-01T12:42:00.008+02:00

And office live is turning into a nightmare (which is not so weird after months of total freedom) ... oh and my direct colleague left. Note to those not in the know, besides programming he also did the system management at the office... so thats up to me now. Maybe I am just not designed for Helldesk work... in a * very * BOFH-like manner the following conversation literally happened a couple of

On five weeks of Italy

2008-08-06T17:10:00.002+02:00

One picture says more than a thousand words. I am currently for five weeks in Italy and have shot more than 1700 pictures. According to the saying that would mean I now have a serie of four novels over a thousand pages each. All in all it is high time to send some message out into the world. Consider this post as a replacement for the standard ansicht from Italy. I made a selection of about 60

Country of extremes

2008-07-17T11:22:00.003+02:00

The longer I stay in Italy the more my view of this country changes. I have spoken with many people at home who are complete and total italianophiles. Italy is this fantastic place of the Dolce Vita, slightly crazy, everything is possible, passionate, historic, warm, blue seas, creative, good food, fast cars, sunglasses, scenery, sailing, fascinating literature, art and a songlike language. This

From Italy with love

2008-07-04T09:24:00.004+02:00

This country is at least as crazy as the flash-thingy shows... made by an Italian, send to me by an Italian and from experience I can confirm every single thing of it.(Especially the bus...)

Towels

2008-06-27T16:46:00.003+02:00

Today is the day that we learned that you can grow asparagus on Mars. Honest. I am not making this up. I mean, when Uncle Beeb says it's so, it's so, right?Mars soil supports lifeAnyways, a quick update on affairs. Affairs are that I left for Italy yesterdaynight and am not returning till end of August. As a sidenote, Italy btw is incredibly hot... I am currently adjusting to temperatures of 30+

In Memoriam AF

2008-06-13T12:07:00.004+02:00

Yesterday we should have remembered the birthday of one of Holland's most famous and wellknown writers. Although she wrote only one book virtually everyone has heard of her. Her work became one of the lasting testaments of a war of which so much has been written. Lots of briliant books and so much utter crap.Hers though is briliant.It is briliant because it describes her daily life, her growing

I am so utterly bored

2008-05-22T13:36:00.002+02:00

Oh God save me from the horror of programming soccer games.And deliver me from the evil of the European Championships....Yes I am utterly and totally bored.Yesterday I was briefed on a new game we are going to design, develop, test and implement for the biggest commercial radio station in NL ... has to be delivered in 1 week (!) I told my boss he was crazy but he is making 13.000 euros with this.

Filed my bachelorthesis!

2008-05-18T23:48:00.002+02:00

Yaay!! After 8 months I finally finished the research and writing of my bachelorthesis on democracy and corporatism in the medieval chruch during the 14th and 15th centuries.You can read it here: Weid mijn schapen - Upload a doc Read this doc on Scribd: Weid mijn schapen Anyways... suffice to say that I am glad its done! I lost over 2 months of work when some

ET spiritus sanctus

2008-05-14T15:07:00.002+02:00

A highly controversial interview with Gabriel Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory - the pope's personal skygazers - can be found here.Quote:"Writing in the Vatican newspaper, the astronomer, Father Gabriel Funes, said intelligent beings created by God could exist in outer space."and:"This is not in contradiction with our faith, because we cannot establish limits to God's creative freedom,"

A book without verbs

2008-05-09T13:04:00.002+02:00

Ok, I confess I haven't read the book. And I won't. Found this on a blog somewhere:Le Train de Nulle Part (The Train From Nowhere) is a 233-page French novel written by Michel Thaler. It is written without a single verb.Thaler said this about verbs: "The verb is like a weed in a field of flowers. You have to get rid of it to allow the flowers to grow and flourish. Take away the verbs and the

Got a new toy :)

2008-05-09T11:26:00.003+02:00

And it's called scribd.com and allows the upload of most document formats to a webserver. Scribd then reconcstructs the document so it can be viewed from any other page through a youtube like flashplayer. It's hella cool!So for testing purposes I used a document that I wrote as part of my bachelor thesis. For the final thesis it was significantly cut down but I kept it as a single file for

Why I love St. Augustine

2008-05-08T12:11:00.003+02:00

It is frequently asked what our belief must be about the form and shape of heaven according to Sacred Scripture. Many scholars engaged in lengthy discussions on these matter, but the sacred writers with their deeper wisdom have omitted them. Such subjects are of no profit for those who seek beatitude, and, what is worse, they take up precious time that ought to be given to what is spiritually

Showing off (AKA the-post-about-me,-an-italian-woman-and-why-I-am-in-love-with-her AKA the-post-in-which-we-discuss-the-foundations-of-reality)

2008-04-28T16:53:00.008+02:00

Gertjan: lolquestiontheoreticallydo you think statistically everything has a chance to happen?Chiara:: in principle, I guess soGertjan: coolChiara:: how big a chance depends on the conditions and situationsGertjan: so if i write the following code:while 1 < 10blahblahblahend whileit will actually at some time in the next billion years or so eventually find that 1 really is larger than 10 and stop

Another intellect calling...

2008-04-16T13:31:00.002+02:00

I received this phonecall a couple of minutes ago... "Hi this is XXXXXXX from XXX company, I wanted to speak to someone regarding advertisements for civil-servants.""That would be Mr. XXXX but he is not in at the moment, can I leave a message?""No, I don't think so, I'd rather call him back myself...""Oh, you are going to sell him something?""... euhm, yes. We are selling advertisement space...

After the thunderstorm

2008-03-28T11:18:00.002+01:00

Let's return to work on making society and the world a nicer place :)

Fitna Vlutna

2008-03-28T10:49:00.003+01:00

Have I seen it? Yes, the english version because I couldnt get the dutch one to load...What did I think? One word: crap.Oh maybe two: cheap crap.I mean come on. You tell us in December that you are going to make a movie about Islam. You hijack public debate for nearly 4 months. And you dare show up with this cheap shit?? If I were a professional politician I'd be highly embarassed. Anyone can do

Of Equal Stature

2008-03-19T21:44:00.007+01:00

"De dood weegt niet zwaar. Alleen voor hèm die door te velen gekend werd, en sterft zonder zichzelf te kennen."(Death is not a heavy burden. Only for him who was known by many, and dies without knowing himself.)"Iemand onuitputtelijk vinden, is van hem houden."(To think someone to be inexhaustible, is to love him.)"Onder de meiboom zitten jonge geliefden fijn lente te zijn."(Under the maytree,

The Last of the Great

2008-03-19T09:52:00.005+01:00

"Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering."- Arthur C. Clarke (16 december 1917 – 19 march 2008) -He was the last of three great science fiction writers. Clarke, with Heinlein and Asimov changed the way we look at world. He was an visionary of equal stature as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells and a briliant storyteller."

Shades of Gray

2008-03-09T12:00:00.006+01:00

Sir Bob Geldof's travels with George BushHad anyone other then Bob Geldoff written it, I would have dismissed it as PR. As it stands, it shows a part of pres. Bush we rarely hear of. At least it strengthens my believe in nuanced thinking :) I may not agree with everything he does (and has done) but I can't imagine anyone being so deeply evil and detestable as the media usually picture him. Glad

To let everyone know

2008-02-18T14:02:00.003+01:00

Loki died this weekend.And it feels like shit.It's so incredibly stupid.Saturday two weeks ago he again developed the ear infection he had in fall last year. I went immediately to a vet because last time it was pretty close. However this new vet was not at all gloomy and prescribed the same antibiotics as last time. She said that if it got under control he would be with me for at least a couple

2008 Nederland Benoemt & Bouwt

2008-01-03T10:24:00.000+01:00

Greatest start possible for NL. It's time to chose sides. Sign now.I know I didI believe in tolerance I think problems are better solved without insults and stereotypesI don't care if it is 'preachy'I get seriously sick of hearing the words 'islam=fascism'I am part of the silent majorityI want my truth to be in shades of greyI care about my freedomsI love peopleThat makes me of course an "

Murphy's Curse

2007-12-31T12:57:00.000+01:00

Today, being the last day of 2007, I was cursed with the worst all techie curses... I was cursed by the Great Murphy himself.No, 't was not fun.On the last day of the year, you normally don't do much. You finish some stuff, drink a beer and have a general chat with your colleagues. Oh and you utterly destroy copiers.We were just chatting when my boss suddenly asked "the copier runs some black

I finally moved!

2007-11-05T12:06:00.000+01:00

Been terribly busy lately. Before going to the UK my brother asked me if I wanted to rent his house in Leiden. His gf had applied for a job in Enschede (of all places) and they moved there half October. After my hiking trip (that would be last week) I packed my stuff and moved to Leiden. As of sunday my new address is:Ververstraat 302312 LV LeidenIt's an 18th century house, called a 'weaverhouse'

Dating Sites and Hadrian's Wall

2007-10-12T00:02:00.000+02:00

First of all the Parship datingsite is a mega rip off! I was curious how this stuff works and made an account several months ago. Occasionally I received email that new interesting people were added blahblahblah... I wasnt quite interested and only had an active account. That is until october 9th, I received an email that someone had contacted me. Meeting new people is always fun so I opened her

Loki

2007-08-20T12:39:00.000+02:00

Most importantly it seems Loki is getting well :) For those of you who I haven't told: Loki's ear got infected about three weeks ago. At first everything seems to be fine as it looked like any other minor infection. I went to the vet, got some stuff to put in his ear and it wasn't really mindshocking. He seemed to be doing well until I returned from the UK last weekend. When I got home I found

Alan Johnston is free :)

2007-07-04T08:39:00.000+02:00

I woke up this morning with the great news that BBC reporter Alan Johnston was freed by Hamas. I have been smiling ever since :) Still it's funny how news reporting works and its subtle influence on the way people think. Read the BBC Headline "BBC's Gaza reporter released " and the dutch NOS Headline "Johnston released by Palestinian splinter organization". Neither mention the huge role of Hamas

Big Sky Country

2007-06-28T11:47:00.000+02:00

Today we moved dozens of big cardboard boxes, the contents of which span 10 years of archive and about 8 companies... don't ask why, it's a long story. Anyways, those boxes had to be carried from the second floor of building A to the first floor of building B, again, don't ask why, it's still a long story. When we finally had crashed in front of the office and sitting in the rare sunlight - I

Bright Moments

2007-06-05T10:01:00.000+02:00

"The sense I have is that there's an unease, an uncomfortable sense about the whole Guantanamo milieu. There's just a sense of too many shortcuts in the whole process,"Full Story HereThis must qualify as the brightest moment in recent American political history... compliments to Senator Arlen Specter, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He is not sure of course, he just '

Am I going crazy or what...

2007-06-03T21:14:00.000+02:00

I figured that I *am* going crazy since: - it doesn't worry me that I know who Shuppiluliuma I is...- it makes sense that Tudkhaliya II was married to Nikkalmati...- I know where the land Kizzuwatna is...- I accept without question that Pudukhepa was the wife of Hattushili III and she was a born and bred Kizzuwatnanian (or whatever they call the people from Kizzuwatna; Kizzuwatnaniese,

The Big Donor Show

2007-05-29T11:45:00.000+02:00

Each time when you think that commercial exploitation can' t go any lower you realize that there are always insane people pushing for new boundaries. Today Endemol, creators of excellent shows *note my sarcastic tone* like 'Big Brother' set the latest threshold. A new show will be launched in The Netherlands called ' The Big Donor Show' in which the public can vote for three candidates in need

New pictures at my deviantart account!

2007-05-28T20:46:00.000+02:00

I *finally* uploaded some Rome pictures to my deviantart account. You can watch them here and click 'gallery'. :)I also finished another paper today; one of the most complex I wrote so far. Its about revelation and enlightenment in 12th century scientific reasoning in Islam and Europe. I basically attack the modern western idea that Islam never went through a 15th century renaissance and

Update on life the universe and everything

2007-05-24T11:25:00.000+02:00

Lots of news to discuss and extremely little time. My house is for sale and online at funda. Go watch it here and tell the world! The sooner it is sold the sooner I can move to Leiden :))On the college front, I have been writing my ass off lately. Very interesting thesis in Euro-Islamic scientific relations in the 12th century which is due May 31st. When I am done I'll switch to prepare for my

Don Quichote

2007-04-22T11:44:00.002+02:00

Today I received an email from Amazon... it contained its usual list of suggestions which in general are indeed very interesting. But they managed to amaze me today:Suggested was:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)by J. K. RowlingList Price: $34.99Price: $18.89You Save: $16.10 (46%)It was recommended because I purchased or rated: 'The Malleus Maleficarum of Kramer and Sprenger'.

So it goes.

2007-04-13T09:50:00.000+02:00

"Space: It's huge. It's a lot of other things, but mostly huge. If you lose your keys in it, you're pretty much screwed... And, if we want to search for life, we need to stick to where we think it can flourish. Life as we know it is picky...Earth might have won the galactic lottery being the right size, material and position to sustain life — or maybe it's as common as snot...Kepler [NASA's new

Lesson number 1 of how not to hunt heads

2007-04-11T16:16:00.000+02:00

Today is a busy day at the office. Hell, recently *every* day is a busy day at the office. Anyways, I was busy when I answered the phone in my usual grumpy tone. I am allowed to be grumpy on the phone since I am not phone-trained. Phone training is like nappy training, if successful nobody can tell if you are pissed. Anyways, I answered in dutch of course and the following conversation ensued. I

Just one picture the rest will come in March!

2007-02-20T11:11:00.000+01:00

All is done

2007-02-20T10:11:00.000+01:00

I managed to connect the laptop to the internet. So many things happened last week that I dont even know where to start. I have seen more than I could ever imagine ranging from antiquity to baroque art. Some highlights: I went into the excavations underneath the St. Peter, saw Bernini's marble statues in Gallery Borghese - which are more beautiful than anything else -, saw lots and lots of

Quick post from Rome

2007-02-11T11:55:00.000+01:00

I am in Rome!! And it feels like I have always been here :) Its funny that you can know so much of a city out of books you read and maps you saw that when you are actually there it all makes sense.I had a great flight wednesday, arrived incredibly early at the institute. Strolled through the Villa Borghese parc and found a great place with a view over Piazza del Popolo, the Tiber and the St.Peter

Rome

2007-01-14T18:19:00.000+01:00

For those of you I havent yet called while bouncing through life: I am going to Rome!I applied for a place in a two week seminar at the KNIR (Kon. Ned. Instituut Rome/Royal Dutch Institute Rome). With my application I had to file a motivation and a list of my grades. Friday I received an email from Rome that told me that I was selected to participate in the seminar :)I will be going to Rome for

I AM GOING TO ROME!!!!!

2007-01-12T17:47:00.000+01:00

WEEEHEEEE! I just received word that I am chosen to go to Rome!!More info soon!

The Gathering, 27th December, Tilburg 013.

2006-12-29T10:58:00.000+01:00

On wednesdaynight I went with Mark to watch 'The Gathering' playing in Tilburg at 013 (the late 'Noorderlicht'). Their second album 'Mandylion' really had me hooked in 1996 but I lost track of them after 'Nighttime Birds'. There were rumors they had broken up so I never thought about them much, although I still listened to Mandylion. Early December I accidentally found their website; to my

Fotosjop

2006-12-26T00:28:00.000+01:00

Just to show people what I do in photoshop after I downloaded pictures from my camera. Is this convincing enough to go and watch my gallery?Oh and a merry christmas!

Life in the fast lane

2006-12-23T17:04:00.000+01:00

My post of this morning... blogger wouldnt post!Taking a-do-nothing-day today. Listening to Nina Simone while playing around with the tons of pictures I took in Languedoc, France last October. You can watch them here...Last weeks were quite busy with work and study and stuff so I'm getting a bit tired, ah well, nothing new there. Lots of weird stuff happening too. Most weird encounter was in

Test post

2006-12-23T17:03:00.000+01:00

Blogger doesnt post.... or does it?

Sinterklaas

2006-12-06T16:15:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was Sinterklaas. He brought me a Rubber Ducky that glows in the dark.I am a complete sucker for Rubber Duckies, especially if they glow in the dark.So yay for the Rubber Ducky...*YaY*

Iron Maiden

2006-12-04T09:13:00.000+01:00

Last week I went with Mark to the Iron Maiden concert in Den Bosch. Both of us are old-time fans and neither of us had ever visited them before. We kinda lost contact with the band after the return of Dickinson and the last album we knew well was Brave New World.We kinda left Zoetermeer late but managed to get to Den Bosch within 1.5 hours which is, considering the rush-hour, a very good time.

Black and white

2006-11-23T09:11:00.000+01:00

It's a long while since I posted my last blog update. I have been incredibly busy rearranging life, studying and preparing my move to Leiden. I have been traveling southern France last month and I haven't even found the time to write an update on that visit, let alone finishing my pictures.Yesterday was election day here in The Netherlands and the results are in. In short, dogma's have won in all

Books

2006-10-04T08:41:00.000+02:00

I have been reading much lately. Which is funny since ‘reading much’ in my case probably means something like ‘reading insanely’ for most people. I usually read three or four books at the same time, choosing the one most appropriate to my state of mind and the time of day. Which sounds weirder than it actually is, I mean no soul in it’s right state of mind is going to read Plato before going

Manifest

2006-10-02T20:49:00.000+02:00

In this I do agree,with you, the world and me,that dreams can come to be,the infinite, possibility.So why does dawn set us free,we, the flowering bourgeoisie,seem to be, too gifted to see,that in this harsh reality,truth is just an augury,and striving for our vanity,man succumbs to misery.While all we want, really,- besides a cup of English tea -is the world to hear our plea:That life is not

Koreans are weird, in a funny kind of way

2006-09-27T14:47:00.000+02:00

If anybody happens to have the foggiest clue what kind of robot this korean company is selling I'd appreciate it if you could let me know. Maybe there is someone out there capable of translating korean english to english english..."Small-sized fondling robot: With above basic of the robot which is started together it is a condition which it moves. When new operation order widely known it is not

Pictures online

2006-09-03T23:49:00.000+02:00

I posted final cut pictures of my trip to the UK on my deviant page. So far I have cut pictures from London, Wimpole Hall, Cambridge and Stonehenge. More might follow depending on available time.This is only a small selection of pictures. I took over 200 photographs which are available to view at my place for the die-hard fans only.

Good Tidings of Great Joy

2006-08-29T08:31:00.000+02:00

Yay, good things have happened and are happening!Last saturday I returned from the UK and I had a great time. Last post was about plans for the day but of course it ended up going completely different. B's flight from Bilbao was a bit delayed so he returned only late sunday afternoon. Instead of going to Cambridge we went to Bishop's Stortford and the local videostore. Bart bought some movies (

Tye Green

2006-08-20T13:21:00.000+02:00

I am currently at Bart's place in Tye Green which is within yelling distance of the London Stansted runway. My brother is currently working, he had a trip to Bilbao. I just woke up, did the dishes... since I *do* want to return here ;), figured out how his DVD/CD/TV/Multimedia thingies work and am now listening to Pink Floyd's The Pulse, which happened to be lying around.Yesterday was a good but

Full Moon

2006-08-09T22:37:00.000+02:00

I was sitting behind my desk tonight writing, when I received a call from my sister-in-law. She only asked "are you having a clear sky as well?". I looked outside and saw one of the most beautifull full moons ever. It's cool to have friends who call you when they see something pretty.I made some pictures, used an overlay of two to create the following. The photoshopping is merely done to

must type stuff here...

2006-07-30T17:08:00.000+02:00

Last week was not fun, too much confronting with what I have lost and too little attention for new chances. If it is up to me I prefer more new chances and less confronting, thank you very much.I spoke with Thijs who was kinda surprised that I still consider myself happy. Happy as in happy with life. I am not happy with the divorce thing of course but there are so many other things that I can

Feeling hot hot hot

2006-07-19T17:14:00.000+02:00

A heatwave... where?Agreed, above picture is well... hot, especially when you realize it was taken in my sleeping room.This however is much much worse...This was the reason why I spent my time today entirely indoors. This picture was taken at 17:00 (so not even the hottest time of the day) at my terrace in the sun, with no shade (other than that of me while taking the picture) without any breeze

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

2006-07-17T10:04:00.000+02:00

Yesterdaynight I went with Thijs to Pirates II. We had a lot of fun, it's a decent adventure with enough power to be tense at times and enough humor to be hilarious. Don't expect a memorable tale of outstanding storytelling, this movie isn't made for that. Its goal is to entertain you and really succeeds at doing that. I don't mean to say that the storytelling is bad, just a bit confusing at

Another picture

2006-07-12T12:52:00.000+02:00

Featuring my brother and his girlfriend. Spend last weekend smoking a waterpipe at their place. Very nice :)

Flickr

2006-07-06T23:24:00.000+02:00

By buying a digital camera I was kinda forced by people to open up a picture galery. I did so here at Flickr.If I fee like it I'll upgrade to a pro account to be able to make more picture sets and upload more than the 20M limit a month.

First picture worth sharing

2006-07-06T21:15:00.000+02:00

My mum's hortensia

Nikon D50

2006-07-06T10:18:00.000+02:00

Woot! I bought a new camera :)It's a DSLR with a digital 15-50mm Nikkor zoom lens (28-80mm at 35mm film) and a 45-200mm Nikkor lens (70-300mm at 35mm film). I am still getting used to the controls but suffice to say that I am a *very* happy bunny. Especially the Nikon autofocus is amazing. I am used to the horrible autofocus of my old Sigma SA500 which simply sucked. I nearly always had to manual

Stream of Passion

2006-06-23T09:17:00.000+02:00

Yesterdaynight was a good night. Last week I stumbled upon a "new" (at least for me) band called Stream of Passion. A project of Arjen Lucassen who is the mastermind behind Aeryon; an experimental metal project in which he collaborates with people like Bruce Dickinson, James Labrie to name but a few. Stream of Passion is more gothic than Aeryon and sounds like a less commercial version of Within

About a cock and chicks

2006-06-22T11:12:00.000+02:00

Yesterday my family was torn by debate. We got stuck in an endless string of confusion after my brother stated: "I get tired of those crowing chickens at my appartment...". On which my mum replied "Chickens don't crow, cocks crow". I immediately stepped in to support my brother stating: "cocks are chickens".Of course nobody believed me... nobody believes me *ever* ;) So today at the office during

More grades

2006-06-20T17:12:00.000+02:00

Oookay, stuff is getting seriously scary now. I just received a call from my professor Medieval History. He told me that my paper about the Christian conversion of Scandinavia was one of the best he had read in *years*. He had some minor comments on stuff he would have done differently - these ppl remain teachers ;) - but eventually he rated it at 90 out of 100 :) combined with my input during

Grades

2006-06-18T23:48:00.000+02:00

Quick update before going to bed. I received the results of my exam on Christian Medieval Thought... I scored a whooping 90 out of 100! I had already written a paper on St. Bernard of Clairvaux for the same course which resulted in 80 out of 100. So all in all I think I will declare this as a yay-moment :)*yay*k enough yays, off to bed now.

6-6-6

2006-06-06T08:21:00.000+02:00

Funny how much today's date still scares people. Even the NOS has put up this article (in dutch). I have been studying Medieval Christianity through the entire pentacost weekend and am truly amazed how 'medieval' we actually still are. A colleague told me that a suicide warning has been issued by the health service. His dad-in-law works as principal at a High School. My mum told me the same thing

NVD: Paedophilia and politics

2006-05-31T08:14:00.000+02:00

We have a new poltical party! It is called the NVD: "Naastenliefde, Vrijheid en Diversiteit" roughly translated as "Neighbourly Love, Freedom and Diversity". They created a storm of protests in Holland as well as internationally. The NVD proposes some radical political issues like legalizing both hard & softdrugs, legalizing streaking, enforcing everybody to become vegetarians and... legalizing

Shit

2006-05-29T11:13:00.000+02:00

No matter how strong I may seem, being dumped without ever getting a new chance hurts like hell... period.Can't feel this way now, need to make an exam tonight.*shit*- Music: Marillion - Afraid of Sunlight

Scandinavian conversion

2006-05-27T17:34:00.000+02:00

My paper on cultural changes after the Scandinavian conversion during the 10th and 11th centuries is done!You can read it hereBut it is in dutch though!

Next year's courses!

2006-05-24T21:09:00.000+02:00

Ok... I know it is a tiny *bit* early but I am already anticipating next semester! The menu so far - which is subject to changes as I see fit - - Monday 20:30 – 22:00 Historiography- Tuesday 11:00 – 13:00 Ancient History: Christianity in the Roman world- Tuesday 18:45 – 20:15 Medieval History: Popular faith and superstition in the Middle Ages- Tuesday 20:30 – 22:00 Medieval Paleography- Wednesday

Amazon goes p.o.d.!

2006-05-23T08:55:00.001+02:00

Thijs, beware of the competition ;)- Tweakers article in dutch -

The Da Vinci Code

2006-05-22T22:06:00.000+02:00

Last Friday I went with Thijs to the Da Vinci Code. He wanted to see it and I well, had little else to do and was curious how bad it would be. Well, bad is not really the right word. It is euhm… different and entertaining. I fear I laughed harder than was intended and there were quite some people looking annoyed. But I can’t really help it… I mean the cinema was filled with ‘believers’! The story

New life - new chances - new blog

2006-05-22T20:54:00.000+02:00

It is quite confronting to realize that you do *not* hold the key to your own hapiness. There is stuff in this world that doesn't listen and will bite you. We really can't avoid it and trying to do so is a complete waste of time. Dealing with it isn't though and I will not quit working towards my own hapiness. There is, even with all the sadness, lots to enjoy. New freedom and new chances to