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Super 8 28 August 2011 Review of the 2011 J. J. Abrams movie.   a-ha and Norway II 22 August 2011 Thanks to the live broadcast on http://www.nrk.no, I was able to see the full Norwegian memorial service in the Oslo Spektrum arena. It was a sober, fitting tribute to the fallen victims. Most artists were completely unknown to non-Norwegians and sang in their native tongue, but that didn't matter because grief is a universal language. I did recognize soprano Sissel Kyrkjebř, however, who scored a hit in 1997 when she collaborated with Warren G. a-ha opted for a toned-down rendition of their 1988 song Stay On These Roads, a very fitting choice. The band was beautifully accompagnied by the Kringkastingsorkestret (the broadcaster's orchestra), which made me long for a full symphonic a-ha concert. I was particularly fond of the band Sambandet, who played a laidback, guitar-driven song. I reckon they're Norway's equivalent to a band like Dire Straits. The most touching part of the ceremony was the naming of all the victims, photo and name included. All those young lives, gone in the blink of an eye. Horrible, just horrible. Norway can be proud of the entire, two-hour tribute.   a-ha and Norway 12 August 2011 What happened in Norway on 22 July 2011 affects us all. The horrible, senseless, pointless killing of youngsters alike is a vile act that should never ever be repeated. When I heard the news, I felt especially bad for Norway. It's a fascinating country, free of protocol and filled with natural resources, riches, culture & landscapes. They're not even a part of the EU (European Union), for they don't need it. A peaceful and quiet country that never makes the headlines. Yesterday, my favourite pop band a-ha, proud Norwegians, announced they would come out of their self-imposed retirement to participate in a national memorial service in Oslo on 21 August. That's great news, from a fan's point of view. However, I wish it had never been apt to hold a memorial service. This is not why you want your musical heroes to reunite. That said, I'm looking forward to hear them again and I'm sure their carefully crafted tunes will soothe the trampled souls of the Norwegians and, by extent, the baffled rest of the world. I only hope the producer of the service will have the decency to leave out questionable song choices. The last thing we need to hear is Hunting High And Low, Cosy Prisons or Celice (with its lyric "it's in the way you hurt me"). Which may be a bigger problem than you would initially say, because a-ha has a lot of brooding songs with dark subject matter. Even a seemingly touching song as Soft Rains of April turns out to be about a convincted criminal. My personal picks would be Love is Reason, Minor Earth Major Sky (for the sense of grandness it evokes) and their farewell song Butterfly Butterfly (The Last Hurrah) because it sounds so cautiously optimistic. My thoughts are with you, Norway.   Intergalactic Lovers 7 August 2011 Relatively new band Intergalactic Lovers rocked the crowd in Wilrijk, Belgium for a 45-minute set on the Willrock festival. The lyrics of their song, Delay, feature the lines "the sound of heavy rain", "I'll let it just drip-drip-drip on me" and "that's what the weather gods said last night". Quite ironic, then, that it rained during the entire show. Afterwards, we were soaked - but we had enjoyed a thoroughly fine performance. Intergalactic Lovers. Remember that name. Buy their album. Do it now.   New photographs 4 August 2011 The Young Man and The Sea | Shine On You Crazy Sun | Couple d'Etat | Martin Becker/Nancy Junion | Strandwerpen | Sita Vermeulen   Doctor Karel Crombecq 3 August 2011 Nine years ago, Karel Crombecq (yes, the Karel Crombecq) helped me build the foundations of Julian's Posts by providing the necessary HTML-code and site templates. That was a piece of cake for Karel, for he is quite the computer-savvy chap. Ever since he was a wee lad of 3, he wanted to become a professional video game developer. The past 5 years, he worked on his doctorate to achieve said goal. Yesterday, he proudly unleashed his full 176-page body of work. He even thanked me in his introduction, a nice gesture I never expected. His achievement is entitled Surrogate Modelling of Computer Experiments with Sequential Experimental Design. No, I don't have a clue, but I do have a link to the PDF version! [watch out! heavy file!]   Back to the Future 2 August 2011 Review of the 1985 Robert Zemeckis movie. It's about time, for I had yet to review my favourite movie of all time.   Coverfield 1 August 2011 Can a cover version top the original song?   Drawing under influence 29 July 2011 Belgian comic book artist Midam (no, that is not his real name) is the creator of two acclaimed series, Kid Paddle and Game Over. The latter is a spin-off of the former, in which a medieval chap (called "The Little Barbarian") unsuccesfully tries to rescue a princess. All the while, he tries to reach the EXIT. Indeed, Game Over is a comic book that reads like playing a videogame. It's quite brilliant, to be honest. Midam offers budding writers the chance to send their own scripts, which - if accepted - will be turned into a one page sheet by the artist. Last week, I sent my effort. Unfortunately, Midam rejected my idea. Not to worry, for I will try again ... until the artist is satisfied. Or fed up with me. All copyright belongs, of course, to Midam.   Drawing redux 2 July 2011 Dimitri Sakelaropolus (yes, that is his real name) challenged me to remake my first page-length comic strip from 1992. I intentionally left in all the weird angles, grammar mistakes and strange colours. Here's a side-by-side comparison.   Games of 2010 27 June 2011 Acquired software and hardware from 2010.   The Twist 26 June 2011 Chubby Checker claims My daddy is sleepin'/And momma ain't around. But won't daddy wake up, once they start twisting? Twisted logic!   Clarence Clemons, you will be missed 19 June 2011   Toy Story 3 18 June 2011 Review of the 2010 Lee Unkrich movie.   Dairy of the Dead 5 June 2011 Triassic, Cretaceous, Jurassic. Jura cheese? Wow. Talk about old cheese.   Otto Van De Steene 29 May 2011 Interview with Belgian photographer Otto Van De Steene, in English or in Dutch.   Films of 2010 15 May 2011 Needless to say, I'm a little behind on my yearly retrospectives. Here be the films of 2010.   Tron Legacy 23 December 2010 Review of the 2010 Joseph Kosinski movie.   Scott Pilgrim vs. the World 12 December 2010 Review of the 2010 Edgar Wright movie.   Lucky Town 29 November 2010 Review of the 1992 Bruce Springsteen album.   The Social Network 8 November 2010 Review of the 2010 David Fincher movie.   Drawings 31 October 2010 Avatar | Dracula | Laura in Wonderland | Magne Furuholmen | MySpace | Twilight | Hairspray Man | Charles Haddon | The Slide | Papillon   Back to the Future 26 October 2010 Today marks the exact 25th anniversary of Marty McFly's first time travel. On 26 October 1985, he tried to outrun the Lybians, accelerated to 88mph and travelled to 5 November 1955. To commemorate this joyous occasion - after all, Back to the Future is my favourite movie of all time - I will drink a Pepsi Free (problem : they aren't for sale in Belgium), I'll listen to the Eddie Van Halen's song (problem : it was never commercially released) and I will try to steal some plutonium from the Lybians (shouldn't be a problem). I also received the Blu-ray collection of all three films yesterday, in a gorgeous box full of swagger (including lenticular photo, posters, Gray's Sports Almanac and more). I will however wait to see the restored masterpieces, for I want to enjoy them with a bunch of equal BttF-loving friends, comrades and chaps. Great Scott!   Question of the Day 21 October 2010 Can a crooked thief have crooked teeth?   Revelation of the Day 20 October 2010 The word "iris" (as well as the name "Iris") contains the word "eye". So, "eye" is part of "eye-ris", whereas the "iris" is part of the "eye". Funny.   Arnold Gelderman 15 October 2010 Interview with the legendary Dutch director of most of the Disney classics! He also played the Dutch Robin Hood, Kaa, Scar, Lumičre and many more.   Lost Boys - The Tribe 13 October 2010 Review of the 2008 P.J. Pesce movie.   Spammin' all over the world 11 October 2010 In an effort to counter the spammers, blog sites (and others) have introduced the word verification method. The user has to copy a certain word before he or she can enter a comment. These words are plain nonsense most of the time, but I chuckled while reading this one. Sounds like George Lucas's space opera, doesn't it?   Sofia Coppola 8 October 2010 Can somebody - anybody? - please tell me why so many critics hate Sofia Coppola in The Godfather Part III? I really think she does a great job. She's not obnoxious as some other teen actresses, she's convincing, she nails it and she's good.   Gender Questions 6 October 2010 What's the gender of certain objects we use? Does anyone know the answer?   Names for your children 30 September 2010 I'm not yet a father, but it's nice to think about possible names for my future offspring. Just to be prepared.   The Slow Side of the Moon 24 September 2010 A photo of the moon, with a 30" shutter time.   Meet Joe Black 21 September 2010 Review of the 1998 Martin Brest movie.   Revelation of the day 16 September 2010 Funny : the word lawsuit [a case in a court of law which concerns a dispute between two people or organizations (Collins Cobuild English Dictionary)] contains the word sue. What a coincidence.   Separated at birth? 14 September 2010 I noticed a striking resemblance between English actor Charlie Hunnam and Belgian politician Jean-Jacques De Gucht. They could be doppelgangers.   What's Your Excuse!? 12 September 2010 Since 1995, comic store Mekanik Strip has organised a yearly competition for young artists called What's Your Excuse?!. Everything and everyone is accepted, you just have to comply with the central theme. The theme for 2010 was De Reis [The Journey]. Here's my entry : De Reis Af [The Slide]. Check it out in Mekanik Strip (St. Jacobsmarkt 73, Antwerp) from 18 September to 18 October!   Serge Baeken 6 September 2010 Interview with Belgian comic book artist Serge Baeken, in English or in Dutch.   Jurassic Park 4 September 2010 Review of the 1993 Steven Spielberg movie.   New photographs 29 August 2010 Eerie Street | Rehearsal | Beach Shadows | The Belgian Senate | Portable Life [Fleur Boonman]   New drawings 9 July 2010 Buzz Lightyear | Lady Gaga | Shrek | Pixar's Up | Wisdom of the self-portrait | Jango Reinhardt | Duffy Duck | Jenever | Michael Jackson is not dead   Alice In Wonderland 8 March 2010 Review of the 2010 Tim Burton movie.   Titanic 15 February 2010 Review of the 1997 James Cameron movie.   Norwegian news 28 January 2010 a-ha. 11 October 2010. Brussels. Belgium. Hurrah.   Plagiarism? 19 January 2010 The sax part in Elvis Presley's Return To Sender (written by Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell in 1962) sounds remarkably similar to the sax part in Fats Domino's I'm In Love Again (written by Antoine 'Fats' Domino and Dave Bartholomew in 1956). Bring on the lawyers!   Retro of 2009 15 January 2010 Retro bröl bought in 2009   Best of 2009 12 January 2010 Films of 2009 | Music of 2009 | Games of 2009 | Books of 2009 | Concerts of 2009   Blood On The Dancefloor 11 January 2010 Critical appraisal of Michael Jackson's 1997 HIStory In The Mix album.   Happy birthday 8 January 2010 75 years of Elvis Presley. He passed away in 1977, but he's still very relevant and never equalled. Have a drink on me, together with Sinatra and Jackson. My old elementary school principal, the legendary Jan Coninx, is still alive and kicking. But he also turned 75 today. What a cool thought : Elvis and Jan, both born on 8 January 1935. The first one changed the history of rock & roll, the second one changed the lives of many children with his positive guidance.   Generation gap 3 January 2010 My new year's eve bedtime : 3.30 AM. My 84-year old grandfather's new year's eve bedtime : 4 AM. Seniors rule the earth.   UP 24 December 2009 Review of 2009's best movie.   New drawings 19 December 2009 Sex On Fire | Feeling Blue | Bela Lugosi | Where Wolf | Codasync | Jan Decleir | House MD | Irene Cara | Fred Flintstone | Pot/Top Gun   The No-singles 17 December 2009 The best album tracks that were never commercially released as a 7", 12" or CD-single.   H-Man III 15 December 2009 The press on the first H-Man comic.   H-Man II 14 December 2009 New subdivision of 'The Posts' (see menu on the right) : H-Man.   Jozef Van Hove 13 December 2009 New 'Hero' text : Pom.   H-Man 11 December 2009 My first full-length comic H-Man has been up for sale since May 2007, but a digital copy has never been made available. Until now : I've scanned the first 9 pages and pasted them together in a PDF-file as an 'extended teaser' => click here. Full copies (48 black & white pages) can be shipped worldwide. Just contact me and I'll look at the cheapest postal options.   Dirty Dancing 5 December 2009 Review of the 1987 movie.   Time travellin' tales 4 December 2009 This very first Sony MiniDisc portable player from 1992 is currently playing La Roux' Bulletproof from 2009. Think about it : in 1992, there were no (commercial) cellphones, no internet (for everybody), no downloads, no hookers ... and La Roux' singer Elly Jackson was a 4 year old red headed girl. But still, this great piece of hardware can play a song that's 17 years his junior. It's like stepping into a time machine, Doc Brown-style.   Top songs of 2009 3 December 2009 With little more than a month to go before 2009 wraps up : a top-5 of this year's best tracks.   Born To Praise 2 December 2009 Improved "Heroes" text : Bruce Springsteen   Bucktales 30 November 2009 I found a dollar! In Belgium! How very cool.   Morten Harket 28 November 2009 Morten Harket, the lead singer of Norwegian band a-ha, is 50 years old. A respectable age for a musician. But the man (the combination of looks and voice) spells sex. How do I know? An 18-year old girl put it like this : "Morten Harket? He may be 50, but he could end up with me". Well done, mr. Harket! You were a sweet posterboy in the 80's and you still are very wanted. It must be flattering. After all, this girl was -6 when a-ha crashed the scene. P.S. I missed yet another Belgian a-ha gig last month (cf. the '13 November 2005' post). I just don't have any friends that like the band. I never asked 'that girl' about her musical taste before, so I had no clue. Worst of all, a-ha will call it quits again next year. Come back for one more concert on our soil, guys. You can't split without me having seen you.   Pathetic 26 November 2009 Disney has licensed a Cars-themed Halloween/dressing party costume for kids. Fair enough, they've done that in the past. But the kid that eventually dresses up in the Cars outfit will become a ... Cars driver. A driver!? Preposterous! The Cars universe doesn't even have humans, so how could it have drivers? These cars steer, turn, brake (etc) all by themselves. This kind of unrealistic, shameless milking of a succesful franchise makes me sick! It's a disgrace to the spirit of the movie. Bah. Humbug. Dear Walt is spinning in his grave. [photographic evidence]   Bath accessory 24 November 2009 My shampoo includes both olive oil and laurel oil. Sounds like Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Funny.   Instant classic 23 November 2009 Nemesis by David Gray. I heard the first note and I thought : "This is the best song of 2009". Discover it.   New photos/Improved lay-out/Boss Bashing II 22 November 2009 - For the first time since January 2006, I have uploaded some new photographs. - Updated lay-out of 'The Posts' : check films, heroes and other to see subtle changes for the better. - I'm a big admirer of Bruce Springsteen (tip of the day : You're Missing). But some people hate his guts, which is fine by me. No artist is liked by everyone. I just realised today that his initials spell "B.S.". Or "bullshit". How funny, for the haters out there.   The Gloved Genius' Best Songs 20 November 2009 Top-15 of Michael Jackson's best songs I prefer to refer to Michael Jackson as "The Gloved Genius". I don't really like the nickname "King Of Pop", because it implies he only made pop music. What about the funky In The Closet? Besides, Elvis Presley is "The King". Why do they call Lance Armstrong "The Boss", when we all know who "The Boss" is? I don't get it.   No more male chauvinist pig 10 November 2009 From August 2002 to October 2009, this website featured a Chicas of all time-list, a top-25 of (in)famous women I wanted to draw. Today, I decided to remove that rundown, because it's sexist to rank ladies in a random order. Women are women and they should be cherished, regardless of looks. Guess that's called 'growing up' or 'coming of age'. No more male chauvinist pig, then.   This Is It 1 November 2009 Review of the Michael Jackson concert movie.   The magazine project 22 October 2009 Back in 2006, we had to make a magazine for a graphic design course. It had to be a egoistic, self-centered magazine that beared our own name. Kind of like Oprah in the United States or Linda in The Netherlands. It was all about using InDesign; the content wasn't important. However, I wanted to make a magazine I could read afterwards. As such, I wrote enough articles and made enough photos to fill 8 pages. I can't seem to open the original file, but I have scanned a printed copy. The quality is not fantastic, but it's still readable. I've covered up the eyes of all my subjects, because not everyone likes to have an online life. The lay-out had to be an exact copy of an existing magazine. My influence is obviously Vanity Fair (The Tom Ford's Hollywood issue). But they don't have to sue, because my magazine was never commercially released. [click here for the PDF file]   Springsteen anniversary 23 September 2009   New drawings 18 September 2009 Darwin Duck | Taurine & Red Bull | The Applecalypse | Tom Waits | MC Hammer | Zäk Chips VI | Dandy Lion | Quark Express | The Whistler | Michael Jackson   Michael Jackson on Facebook 2 September 2009 22,816 people like the fact that he lived from 1958-2009? Strange fans! [photographic evidence]   Suggestion for Michael Jackson II 26 June 2009 On second thought : nevermind. Rest in peace.   Suggestion for Michael Jackson 24 June 2009 Please play the following songs in London : Give In To Me, Morphine and Unbreakable.   Can a movie make you cry? 13 June 2009 Kleenex moments in my favourite movies.   Brokeback Mountain II 11 June 2009 More thoughts after a second screening of the Ang Lee movie.   Disturbia 7 June 2009 Review of the 2007 movie.   Star Trek 20 May 2009 Review of the 2009 movie.   Pink Shades 17 May 2009 At long last, the first two episodes of the Arne Keustermans series [with yours truly as one of the leads] can be seen. I had written the original pitch way back in 2003 and plans were immediately made to turn the immaculate script into a short film. Many, many rewrites and failed attempts later, the cameras started rolling in the summer of 2008. By then, the short film idea had been dropped in favour of a webseries. Short, quick episodes are more appealing to the YouTube generation. A February 2009 pick-up shot and the absence of a soundtrack further delayed the production. Until last week. Visit the official Pink Shades website and give us your honest opinion. [Pink Shades Episode I] - [Pink Shades Episode II]   Martha/Luisje 10 May 2009 I had previously heard Tom Waits's Martha, but the song didn't seem to leave a lasting impression on me. Charis De Craene, a dear friend of mine, and Grigore Ionita, my nephew, had pointed out the brilliance of the track, but I remained oblivious. Two weeks ago, I took the time to actually sit down and just listen to the tune, with the lyrics next to me. I immediately burst out in tears, because the text is so heartbreaking : forty years have passed, but Tom Frost (the storyteller) still thinks of his love, Martha. "All I had was you and all you had was me". Just the concept (or the message behind it all) : forty wasted years. Incredible. Thank you, thank you, Mr. Waits, for this triumphiant piece of music. Closer to home, the Belgian Arne Vanhaecke has made a very beautiful and touching song in his own right : Luisje (literally : Little Louse), about a boy who wishes to be a louse inside a girl's hair. Vanhaecke is only 21 years of age, but a bright future awaits him. I hope to be a singer/songwriter one day, so I envy him already.   The Kids Are Allright 9 May 2009 The Kids, Belgium's finest punk band, performed on Antwerp On Stage [6 May 2009]. They truly are amazing : no-nonsense songs about injustice, prejudice and the Belgian way of life. Their best known song is There Will Be No Next Time, but their best song may well be Bloody Belgium. At just 1:17, it's over before you know it. The "endless repeat" button comes in handy, then. Read my interview with guitar player Luc Van De Poel. Dutch only, unfortunately.   Bill Nighy, Johnny Depp & Marion Cotillard 1 May 2009 I remember seeing 1998's Still Crazy for the first time and thinking : "Wow, that Bill Nighy is hilarious!". Later on, I enjoyed Love Actually, State Of Play and Dead Man's Chest. He may not be the most versatile actor in the world (his turn as a soused rock star in Love Actually is more or less a copy of his Ray Simms in Still Crazy), but he's always reliable and funny (if the role doesn't demand seriousness). Talking about "versatile" : Johnny Depp has a new movie coming out, Public Enemies. The hype machine must not be working properly, because I had never ever heard anything about this movie up until seeing an ad in this month's issue of British movie magazine Empire. Quite strange, considering the strong cast : Depp, Christian Bale and Marion "Yes, There Is A God And He Is French" Cotillard. Wow, a gangster drama with Johnny Depp. What a pitch! Depp is this generation's Marlon Brando : bodacious, audacious and hyper talented. Let's hope Public Enemies will be our The Godfather.   A star is born 28 April 2009 Interview with Belgian musical star Deborah De Ridder [in Dutch].   Best actresses ever 26 April 2009 Even though some prefer to be called "female actors" or just "actors" ... - Sally Field - Helen Hunt - Kate Winslet - Meryl Streep - Laura Linney - Diane Keaton - Reese Witherspoon - Rachel Weisz - Sophia Loren - Julianne Moore - Juliette Binoche - Judi Dench - Helena Bonham Carter - Maggie Smith - Regina King - Natalie Portman Two males I forgot on my last list : William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi.   Fourth track syndrome/license plates 25 April 2009 - Elvis Costello : "The fourth track on an album is usually the best one". Does he speak the truth? - New license plates   Did you know? 24 April 2009 The verb "to game" is translated in Dutch as "gamen". Or, phonetically, "gay men". Odd.   He's Just Not That Into You 19 April 2009 [film review]   New drawings 17 April 2009 Blu-ray | Zäk Chips V | Satyrdays Of Thunder | Patti Scialfa | Riddle | Anthony Arandia | Barbiecue | Calvin & Hobbes Homage | Kama-Seutra | Wok On The Wild Side | Darth Maul | Darth Maul II | Femme Fatale   License plates/Blue Blot 16 April 2009 - New subdivision of 'The Posts' (see menu on the right) : License plates. - Improved "Heroes" text : Blue Blot   Best actors alive 11 April 2009 Random order // no explanation // not finite // very subjective - Matthew Modine - Jack Nicholson - Anthony Hopkins - Josh Brolin - Sean Penn - Ed Harris - Johnny Depp - Ryan Gosling - Robert DeNiro - Jeff Bridges - Daniel Day Lewis - Morgan Freeman - Tom Hanks - Brad Pitt - Jeff Goldblum - Al Pacino   Boss Bashing 10 April 2009 - "Springsteen is an ugly asswipe!" (Mohamed Fitouri) - "Springsteen is a douchebag!" (Romeo DH Van Snick) - "Springsteen is pure crap!" (Elio Rombouts) - "Springsteen is the most overrated musician!" (Grigore Ionita) ... all valid points, but did these people ever compose Jungleland?   Eligible bachelors ... no more! 8 April 2009 Wow! Up until last month, none of my friends were married. Now, over the course of two weeks, I have heard no less than three wedding announcements! Three! Is it really time to take the big step already? Sheesh, I've truly become a (dirty) old man ...   Stop the press! 7 April 2009 For the first time since The Posts' inception, I have changed the top-3 of the Best Songs Ever-list. Dire Straits' Money For Nothing, while still an awesome song, just can't compete with The Rolling Stones' Sympathy For The Devil. Money has a terrific guitar solo, but Sympathy has better lyrics. As an aspiring lyricist, I chose for the latter. The same goes for The Stray Cats' Stray Cat Strut. A brilliant tune, but no match for Bruce Springsteen's Jungleland. I mean no disrepect to any of the mentioned artists, but some have just created better songs than others.   Obituary 28 March 2009 Nand Buyl, one of Belgium's most respected and acclaimed thespians, has died last Tuesday at the age of 86. I won't claim to be a fan of his work, because I have only seen 1% of his total output, but I don't underestimate his influence and legacy. It's truly a loss for our cultural heritage. Wannes Van de Velde, another Belgian icon, passed away in November 2008. Please buy his best song, Mijnen Auto Is Mijn Vrijheid [My Car Is My Freedom], today. Buy, don't download. It makes me wonder : how will I react to the death of Toots Thielemans? Springsteen? Dylan? Knopfler? Spielberg? Burton? Depp? Jackson? MC Hammer? ... it's bound to happen some day. A worrying thought. I guess there's a lesson to learn : appreciate every day as it comes. Or, to use a cliché, carpe diem.   Slumdog Millionaire 19 March 2009 [movie review]   This Is It (Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Buy MJ Tickets) 17 March 2009 It sure wasn't easy to acquire tickets for Michael Jackson's comeback shows in the O2 Arena in London, come summer. First, you had to register your e-mail address, in order to get a presale code. Mind you : a chance to get a presale code. Second, you had to log in at the right time last Wednesday (11 March 2009) to start the process. Third, you had to enter your presale code. Fourth, you had to select the date and the number of tickets. Fifth, you had to wait "approximately 15 minutes" while the software was searching available places in the O2 Arena. You couldn't hit refresh once or someone else got your place in line. Sixth, you had a mere 2 minutes to enter your name, address, phone number etc. Seventh, you had exactly 5 and a half minutes to enter the necessary credit card info. Eight, you had 5 and a half minutes to enter a security code provided by your own bank. Then, and only then, a message appeared saying "Congratulations! You have 4 tickets for Michael Jackson!". What a complicated process, what a difficult procedure. But we're going to the man in the mirror, the smooth criminal, the dangerous & bad man!   Working On A Dream/Edward Scissorhands/Milk III 14 March 2009 - review of the new Springsteen album : [Working On A Dream] - For the first time in fourteen-odd years, I have seen Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands again. I can appreciate it a lot more now, because I noticed the surprisingly complex and thought-provoking morale hidden under the sugarsweet fairytale coating. Johnny Depp moved me to tears with his incredibly brilliant performance. After seeing his Willy Wonka in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, I seemed to remember the same mannerisms and tics portrayed in his Edward persona. How wrong I was : it's a completely different approach. Johnny Depp truly is one of the best actors alive, if not ever. His range is stunning : compare Jack Sparrow to Edward Scissorhands to Ichabod Crane to just about anything he has done. Unbelievable. 95% of the thespians out there should be ashamed they even call themselves "actors". Johnny Depp should have won the Best Actor statuette, just as Tim Burton should have won as Best Director. It's a shame both men have yet to receive any AMPAS attention. - I have seen the Academy Award winning documentary The Times Of Harvey Milk the day before yesterday. It's an incredible piece of work, featuring interviews with most of the key figures - Scott Smith is strangely absent. I got a lump in my throat watching the crying witnesses and I was disgusted with Dan White's advocate, who claimed it wasn't voluntary manslaughter at all. As a companion to the 2008 movie, The Times is essential viewing. It was my first arthouse experience too. I've read about these so-called American "midnight screenings" of (for example) The Goonies for years, but we don't have a tradition of re-releasing past classics. The Times of Harvey Milk was shown in Cinema Klappei's new "Docu On Thursday" programme. Well worth a look if you live in Antwerp!   We hate it when our friends become succesful, part I/Milk II 9 March 2009 - Joris Jonckheer, one of my co-students who goes by the stage name of Skyve Reuter, released his first vinyl record last month. Well, truth to be told, it's the second track of the A-side of Sid & Nancy's Kidzz. As such, it's not his first record, but it's super thrilling anyway. Skyve Reuter is a DJ with the incredible talent to mix two tracks of a completely different genre. "So what?" you may ask. Well, it's very difficult to find two songs and make them sound as one, without the human ear complaining. Think 2 Many DJs. Joris, I wish you all the best! - The gorgeous, funny & sweet Ellen Vermorgen - a dear friend of mine - made a valid point about my Milk-review (see the previous 'Post'). She approved of me praising the actors, but she also pointed out the importance of Milk [both Harvey and the movie] for the gay community. Harvey Milk paved the way for his peers, but success came at a terrible price. He didn't shun controversy, he organised marches, he was a very important key-figure in the (eventual) acceptance of gay people in the United States of America. A great man. Rest in peace, sir.   Milk/Obituary 8 March 2009 - Milk [movie review] - Paul Harvey, a legendary American radio jockey, passed away last month. Have I ever heard one of his radio shows? Nope. Am I saddened by his passing? That would be preposterous. But I do know who he is, thanks to my favourite Simpsons episode ever. In Homer's Barbershop Quartet, Grampa and Jasper listen to Harvey's radio show in the old folks home. They even switch the channel during Homer's song. It's yet another example of how watching The Simpsons makes you smarter. Well, at least when it comes to popular culture.   New drawings 26 February 2009 Giganerd | Zäk Chips IV | Question | Fonske Pepper | Square | Bear Louis | Determined Dude | Fakebook | Faecesbook | Queens Of The Stone Age | The Many Faces Of Miami | Diesel   Best of 2008 29 January 2009 Films of 2008 | Music of 2008 | Games of 2008   The Els Vanopstal 5 December 2008 As I've stated before, I'm an amateur photographer. "Amateur" is a word that's easily misunderstood, but I do mean it in a derogatory way. I make mediocre photos. That's fine. As such, I have a tremendous respect for real photographers. People who understand the craft. World famous examples include Anton Corbijn and Annie Leibovitz. Herman Selleslaghs and Patrick Despiegelaere are lesser known gods. One of the youngest, yet brightest talents to emerge from the Belgian photography scene is Els Vanopstal. Barely 24, she has already built up a steady collection and ditto reputation. Els's photos range from the surreal to the ethereal to the downright gorgeous. She has quite an unique eye for unique pictures, with stunning lightning and subdued colours. It's a rare gift. http://elsvanopstal.com | http://elseye.wordpress.com | http://www.flickr.com/photos/elsvo She even captured yours truly   Michael Crichton/The American Elections 4 November 2008 - Michael Crichton, acclaimed author of Congo and Rising Sun, passed away yesterday. His novel Jurassic Park, of which I read a junior edit back in 1993, was adapted into the eponymous successful movie. The movie made a big impact on me when it was released. Thank you, Mr. Crichton, for providing the original story. - Whether you agree with John McCain or not, you can't deny the man knows how to admit defeat. His concession speech was honest, fair and friendly towards his rival. He deserves a pat on the back for handling his loss so well.   American Gangster 27 September 2008 Review of the Ridley Scott movie   The song of my life 21 September 2008 Do you have a song you can't get out of your head? I do.   New drawings 17 September 2008 Dylan insults U2 | More Erasmus students | Michael eBay | Timberland | Reese Witherspoon | Robert Zimmerman | Batman & Robbin' | Tom Boonen | Colt Turkey | Danzel Washington | Where's Wally? | Marvin Gaye   Obituary 4 September 2008 One of my "Men I Look Up To For What They Have Done Without Saving The World In The Process" has died : Don LaFontaine or 'that trailer voice guy'. You all know him, for he has recorded oodles and heaps of voice overs, trailers and commercials. Well, not everybody will know him, but you should. I first heard of the man when the great Pablo Francisco (a stand-up comedian hailing from Arizona) mentioned him in his most beloved sketch. "The previews guy", as Mr. Francisco called him. Fransico even claimed he met LaFontaine once : "Hi, nice to meet you, my name is Don". Seeing a trailer without Don LaFontaine's ominous voice will certainly feel weird. Thanks for everything, sir. I sometimes try to imitate Don LaFontaine, as seen here around the 02:19 mark.   Just wondering 25 August 2008 Why do toy companies make expensive action figures? Just for the adult nerds, right? What do adult nerds like? Computers, crappy movies, junkfood and loud music. And women, especially the kind they will never ever seduce. Thus I wonder why Hasbro only made plastic robots in their 2007 Transformers line-up. A Megan Fox figurine would have sold like hot cakes, because she's quite the hot cake. That's not a sexist opinion, just a play on words. A stupid decision on Hasbro's part, if you ask me.   New drawings 16 August 2008 Heath | Kelly Clarkson | Peter De Voecht | The Joker VII | The Joker VIII | The Joker IX   You're allowed to be Bossy 15 August 2008 I love to unearth previously undiscovered songs. My tips for the weekend : Lucky Town and Open All Night by Bruce Springsteen. I still have a few good of his men, er, albums to buy (e.g. Nebraska; The Wild, The Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle; Human Touch ...), so it's normal to bump into gems every now and then. Mind you, I don't know the studio edit of Open All Night (which originally appeared on Nebraska). I'm referring to the 8 minute long live version Springsteen recorded with the Sessions Band in Dublin. What a rendition : a sniff of boogie woogie, a little bit of rock 'n roll, some echoes of a juke joint ... and, of course, the 100% charisma of the singer. Buy it today! Buy, don't download.   Juno/Obituaries/Drawings 13 August 2008 a. [movie review] b. "They're falling like flies again" is a Dutch figure of speech meaning "we're losing 'em fast". Bernie Mac was great in Ocean's Eleven ["They might as well call it whitejack!"]. Isaac Hayes will go down in history as the cool cat who sang "Shaft", but I did disagree with his devout Scientology belief. South Park makes fun of everybody, so he should have approved of a Scientology namecheck. And according to my newspaper, the legendary Paul Newman has decided to stop the treatment for his cancer. Will he come to pass as well? c. Ridge Racer | Broadband | The Joker IV | The Joker V | The Joker VI   New drawings 2 August 2008 The Joker II | The Joker III | Swedish girls | Do The Barman | Kirsten Ginckels | Morgan Freeman | Pink Shades poster [the Arne Keustermans short film in the making since 2003]   Dubbing 27 July 2008 Finally! Here's a text I've been planning to write for a long time : the incomprehensible why of dubbing movies.   New and old drawings 25 July 2008 The Joker | Tom Batman | Monica | Olof | Le Petit Spirou drawing (1996) | Gaston Lagaffe drawing (1996) | Gaston Lagaffe drawing II (1996)   The Dark Knight 24 July 2008 Review of the Christopher Nolan movie.   Batman/Quotes 22 July 2008 - Review of the Tim Burton movie. - Some more Swedish quotes.   Drawings 17 July 2008 - Marianne Faithfull | Cockpit | Video Friends | Zäk Chips I | Zäk Chips II | Zäk Chips III   Blood Diamond/New drawings 16 July 2008 - Review of Blood Diamond - Herbie Hancock | Mega Mindy | Hellphone   Discovery 9 July 2008 - British talent Jools Holland's birthname is 'Julian'. I had no idea. How nice. - On a totally unrelated note : isn't it 23 July 2008 yet? I want to see The Dark Knight!   The candy scam/Calley 8 29 June 2008 - Nestlé recently changed the lay-out of their candy bar Bros (not to be confused with the English band from the 80's). OK. They also fiddled with the content. Instead of the normal 30gr./1,20 oz. of chocolate, we only get 24gr./0,96 oz. nowadays. OK. But the price remains the same! Not OK! - Eight Calley Westwood drawing   Tortured lyrics/Swedish quotes/Calley 7 27 June 2008 - Have you ever made up your own lyrics while singing a song? Yes? I know the feeling! - Last collection of Swedish quotes - Seventh Calley Westwood drawing   Incredible/Swedish drawings/Amy 25 June 2008 - German multimedia chain Saturn fully supports the Blu-ray format. Very nice, but could they at least check their spelling? - More drawings of Swedish co-students : 3 - Amy MacDonald's This Is The Life is a fantastic song. Gosh, it's addictive like Schweppes Agrum. [The girl is cute, too.]   Swedish drawings/Obituary 23 June 2008 - Drawings of Swedish co-students : 1 - 2 - Three storyboards for our short film The Flower Shop : 1 - 2 - 3 - Three sketches for my short film pitch Scryscraper Crooks At Large : 1 - 2 - 3 - Stan Winston dead? THE Stan Winston? Without researching : he made the life-size dinosaurs in Jurassic Park & he directed Michael Jackson's Ghosts. Damn, another one.   Steven Spielberg 22 June 2008 'Julian's Posts' has come full circle. I started this site, because I wanted to write about my (musical/cintematographic/literary/etc.) heroes. Announced since 22 August 2002, I finally got around to write the article about Steven Spielberg.   New drawings 21 June 2008 a. A conversation between a couple b. Two drawings for the Swedish student magazine : 1 - 2 c. Dude   Music from 2007 15 June 2008 At long last, after a series of delays : the records I bought in 2007, in one handy rundown.   Random thoughts 14 June 2008 I. Bo Diddley, Harvey Korman, Sydney Pollack & Yves-Saint Laurent ... so far, "2008" has a lot of blood on its fingers. Bo Diddley was an inspiration for just about everyone who made a record during the past 50 years. Harvey Korman was the voice of the Dictabird in The Flintstones [I know he's done a lot more]. I have never seen a Pollack movie, but I know his reputation. I've never worn anything made by Laurent, but a fashion legend he is. II. "I can't find The Beatles on iTunes" [dixit my father]. Yeah, when will Jobs vs. McCartney/Starr/Ono bury the hatchet? III. In an interview with British music magazine Q, Will Smith stated that likes to watch the porn version of all of his movies. These include imaginative titles like Men In Back and Inrearendence Day. Hmm, I wonder how they will massacre his new flick Hancock. IV. I'm back. Sweden has been informative, rewarding and fun.   Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 3 June 2008 Now that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has finally arrived, does it warrant viewing? Is it worthy of the 19-year wait? Is it grand cinema or just a Crystal Dull? Read on to find out!   Sweden/Music/Obituary 23 May 2008 - The second and third video blog for our upcoming short film The Flower Shop. - Sometimes, you have to admit you are wrong. I always dissed Eminem (and rap music in general) for being 'too controversial', but I have to admit : the man has some incredible songs. As an amateur lyricist, I'm awe-struck by the brilliance of some of his raps. The Way I Am, in particular, is a chilling track. Stan, his most acclaimed, is classy too. - Bert André, Dutch actor, succumbed to leukemia at age 66. The classically trained theater actor achieved mass popularity in the Netherlands and Belgium by playing 'Neighour Neuteboom' in Flodder, the Dutch television series about a crass family. I liked his performances; he had a certain elegance and dignity. His colleagues described him as "a pleasure to work with". Rest in peace, Mr. André.   Swindy/Stars' behaviour 21 May 2008 Indiana Jones and the ... (Indy IV!) was released today at one minute past midnight across Belgium. I'll have to wait another 6 days, because the movie we're making (no competition for Jones) is demanding more attention. I'm quite lucky to be here in Sweden, because the Swedes don't dub their movies. Expect a review as soon as possible, i.e. next week! "According to British newspaper the Daily Mail, the Lost In Translation star made a string of demands to ensure her appearance at the renowned festival - including a $8,000 a day make-up artist." [source : www.imdb.com]. I know you can't always trust journalists, but IF it is true ... for shame, Johansson. This is not the kind of behaviour that keeps you at number one on the "Chicas"-list. "A de facto strike has hit production of The Simpsons, with the key actors providing the principal characters' voices, Dan Castellaneta (Homer), Julie Kavner (Marge), Nancy Cartwright (Bart), Yeardley Smith (Lisa), Hank Azaria (Moe) and Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns), demanding raises from about $360,000 per episode to $500,000, Daily Variety reported today (Tuesday)." [source : www.imdb.com] Now, I'm one of the big Simpsons fans, but this is an outrage. Isn't $360,000 per episode enough?! That surely covers the 'expenses' they might have recording the show. How greedy can you be?   At the movies 19 May 2008 People have different expectations and different desires. At least three female friends of mine are counting down the days to see Sex And The City The Movie. I have never seen one episode of the series, but I can imagine a fan's anxiety to see the flick. But, as I said, we all have different mindsets. I am psyched to see Indiana Jones and The Temple of the Crystal Skull! Three days to go! Man, that movie will rock off every pair of pants I have! And then, in two months, The Dark Knight opens its wings. Have you seen the new trailer? Heath Ledger, damn, you are good. Note the use of the present tense : this kind of performance transcends mortality.   Swedish update 14 May 2008 Read all about The Flower Shop, a short film by director Joeri Van Hooijdonck for which I am the camera man. First video blog & teaser included!   Swedish quotes 10 May 2008 The fourth in a series of quotes.   Obituary 21 April 2008 Oh, what a sad day : Danny Federici, the organ, glockenspiel and accordion player from The E-Street Band, has died. He passed away last Thursday, but I just read the news today. When I saw the band for the first time in November 2007, Mr. Federici was absent (due to his skin cancer illness) and replaced by Charles Giordano. Too bad I'll never be able to witness the Federici live skills. Thanks for your presence on 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy). I'm not quite sure what you did on my favourite Springsteen track Jungleland, though. You're the first E-Street bandmember to go ... take care!   Swedish photos/Obituaries 20 April 2008 - Snowman : a life in pictures. - Charlton Heston : one of my favourite actors (a bold claim, for I have only seen Ben-Hur) - Ollie Johnston : guess I won't be interviewing him after all - cf. my 7 March 2008 'Post'. Hope I didn't jinx it. Take care, legendary gent! He was truly "legentary" ...   Swedish photos 15 April 2008 New photos.   Swedish update 13 April 2008 All's well in the town of Sundsvall. Courses have come and gone ... [more]   The Shining 31 March 2008 Review of the 1980 Stanley Kubrick film.   Avoid the clichés 22 March 2008 In my 31 October 2007 post, I sought new ways to avoid the cliché "all killer, no filler". Another one of those tired, overused phrases is "blast from the past". Magazines use it to introduce a certain something that was hip several years ago, which has since fallen out of fashion. I mostly use 'gear from yesteryear'. I'd like to believe I came up with that expression myself, but I doubt it. The following are 100% mine. If you spot them on a billboard or a website in the months to follow, you'll know where they got it from. - stuff from the age of bluff - props from your pops - pieces from your grandnieces - fads from ye olde lads - junk from the Velo's trunk   The Germans/Hugo Claus 19 March 2008 - I was talking to some Germans while eating dinner. Imagine my surprise when I mentioned The Sound Of Music and none of them had ever heard of that movie. How is that possible? I thought it was a super classic; a slice of cinema history; a staple on TV on Christmas day. Apparently not in Germany. How did that happen? Does anyone know? - Hugo Claus died today. According to those who know, one of the greatest Belgian authors. He's famous enough to have his own page on the English Wikipedia. He was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and chose euthanasia to call it a day. Fair enough, I think. When one has dedicated his life to writing and creatively using his brain, it must be unacceptable to suffer from said illness. I fully respect his choice and I'm actually glad that he lived in a country that offers the option to end your own life with dignity.   Ollie Johnston/Photos 7 March 2008 - New Swedish photos - As an aspiring journalist, I have names on a list. People I would love to interview, if there were no boundaries, protocol or obstacles. Regular readers of 'The Posts' can hear me coming : Spielberg, Springsteen, Jackson ... the usual suspects, right? Well, you'd be surprised. Don't get me wrong : those guys are on that list, but the first name that pops into my head is Ollie Johnston. The last living member of Walt Disney's legendary "Nine Old Men". Disney's Nine Old Men were the most important animators during the early days of the studio. These men worked on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and all the other classics. In fact, their Disney careers spanned 40 years, because their last feature was The Rescuers in 1977. Ollie Johnston is, at age 95, the only one remaining. Imagine, the stories that man can tell. He worked with the Walt Disney. He co-created the stuff of legends. Yes, I would like to interview that man!   Games of 2007/Quotes 23 February 2008 - I'm a little behind with my retrospectives : here's my Games of 2007 rundown. - New quotes heard in Sweden.   Indiana Jones 15 February 2008 The first trailer of the new Indiana Jones movie can be seen online. Wow! I'm all ready for the flick. May 22? I know where I'll be!   Quotes II 5 February 2008 Second batch of quotes, brought to you from Sweden.   Cards 30 January 2008 [A thought in Sweden]   Languages 28 January 2008 When you are a broad, er, I mean, abroad, your languages greatly improve! You're surrounded by foreign students 24/7. I already know 6 words in Swedish, 5 words in Italian, 4 in English, 3 in German, 2 in French and 1 in Dutch (chot-fę-dommęh!).   "You're so old skool" 26 January 2008 "T'es si old skool" the French Aurélie Carpentier told me. Here in Sweden, there are students from all around the world. "Moi? Old skool?", I responded in my best Miss Piggy French, "pourquoi?". "When you talk about French musicians, you mention Françoise Hardy, Christoph, Michel Delpeche, Jacques DuTronc et les autres, but those are hardly contemporary French artists. True, you also mentioned Alizée, but I don't think she's any good." she responded. "Thanks to Quinten Abadir I know Fonky Family as well!" I tried. Am I old skool? Maybe. But if old skool means "literature, film, music or architecture most likely of a higher standard than what's on the market today", then by all means, do call me a proud old skooler. Buy - don't download - Hardy's La Maison Oů J'ai Grandi, Christoph's Aline, Delpeche's Pour Un Flirt, Dutronc's Il Est Cinq Heures, Alizée's J'en Ai Marre and Fonky Family's Dans La Légende.   Heath Ledger II 24 January 2008 In memoriam   Films of 2007/Rest in peace, Hollywood actors 23 January 2008 The best of 2007 : films What a shock : Heath Ledger is dead! One of my favourite 'young' actors! His career is filled with many highlights : 10 Things I Hate About You, Casanova, A Knight's Tale, Brokeback Mountain etc. And his biggest role is yet to be released : The Joker in the new Batman movie! The trailer is SO awesome, Heath is (well, was) so talented. Poor Michelle Williams ... they were divorced, but they have a child together. Take into account that this is only one week after Brad Renfro's passing. Renfro, 25, got his break as a 10-year old kid in The Client, based on John Grisham's novel. All I can say is ... "another one". River Phoenix. Kurt Cobain. Jimi Hendrix. Janis Joplin. How sad. So many great performances by Heath Ledger. All those performances will be saved in time, like tears in a glass.   The future is Blu 22 January 2008 Ok, guys, I've got the message : I bet on the wrong horse. HD DVD is losing, Blu-ray is winning. Right? Wrong! Read my 27 August 2007 'Post' again. Well, I'll quote myself (how meta!) just to make it easier for you : "Yes, I'm aware Blu-ray is going to win this current so-called format war" Warner Bros was the proverbial nail in the coffin for Toshiba's HD DVD. Warner was the last so-called 'format neutral' publisher : they released their films on both high definition formats, that is both Blu-ray and HD DVD. But Warner dropped a bomb the size of Arne Keustermans' talent on the HD DVD adopters when they announced their exclusive Blu-ray support on the 2008 CES convention. The Digital Bits, the bible for everything DVD, announced the first weekly sales of HD DVD after the Warner surprise. Blu-ray now firmly holds 85% of the high defintion market in its hands, HD DVD gets a measly 15% (well, of course, because there's no third format - yet? - to claim the rest of the pie). Fine. Ok. Sony won. For once. Remember BetaMax or MiniDisc? Well, I do and I both love 'em to (digital) bits! But here's my question : why could Warner deliver the final blow in this format war? Yeah, Warner's a great studio (The Goonies! Richie Rich! A.I.! Ben-Hur!), but I surely - and clearly - underestimated their overwhelming importance. What makes them more special than, say, Paramount or Universal!?   Rea 21 January 2008 [Get Rea'dy] The one word you see in every shop : REA. Do the Swedes love Chris Rea so much? Do they dig Stephen Rea? Nope, it's Swedish for "sales". Yep, even in Sweden, there are bargains ŕ volonté in January (and supposedly June too).   Split Second 21 January 2008 Split Second is a 1992 film starring the ever great Rutger Hauer. According to Wikipedia's plot summary, "In the year 2008, global warming has taken effect" ... Well, yeah, it has! How did they know?!   The Italian Way 21 January 2008 I was talking about movies with one of the Italian students in Sweden, when the excellent "The Godfather Part II" came into the discussion. Robert DeNiro did an outstanding job delivering almost all of his lines in Italian, as those of you who have seen the movie will remember. But what did the Italians do? They dubbed DeNiro's lines, along with all the other dialogue. Now don't get me wrong : I know the Italians (and the Germans and the French and the ...) like to synchronize their movies and I don't want to sound like a cultural snob. But this is just mean : DeNiro did his best to speak Italian and still, the Italians weren't satisfied. Shame on you, guys.   More photos 20 January 2008 Swedish Tree : getting dark at 3pm! Local Supermarket : open till 10pm, even on a Sunday. Hardworking Swedes! Two Tintin DVDs : only 39SEK/€4.10/$6.04 for the live-action movies from the 60's unavailable in Tintin's native Belgium! For shame! Back To The Future II : only 59SEK/€6.21/$9.15 for a part of my favourite movie trilogy! In English, with Swedish - and even Dutch! - subtitles.   More photos 20 January 2008 [American guy enjoying Belgian beer] - The Swedes still love HD DVD : [Bourne To Be Alive] Speaking of high definition and DVDs as a whole, I saw some interesting things. You have heard of the stereotype, "Sweden the super expensive country"? Think again : a new DVD costs 140SEK, which is roughly €14.7 or $21.71 (sorry, Americans). A new DVD in Belgium costs between €16/$24 and €22/$33. Second hand DVDs are widely available : one for 50SEK/€5.26/$7.75, two for 90SEK/€9.47/$13.95 - not too shabby! I passed a gas station/convenience store, which was still open at 11.15pm. Inside, they had a fairly large selection of CDs, DVDs and magazines, in addition to food and beverages. Simpsons Filmet, Bruce Springsteen's Magic and many books on CD (apparently a common thing in Sweden, still in its infancy in Belgium). A gas station in Belgium rarely has anything more than candy, but the Swedish offering even had two Blu-ray movies : Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Ghost Rider. No HD DVDs, though. And the price? 249SEK/ €26.21/$38.61 for Harry Potter, 299SEK/€31.47/$46.37 for Ghost Rider- way too expensive for this alleged crapfest. Furthermore, the Swedish daily Aftonbladet offered a selection of 8 movies to choose from : buy the paper, pay 10SEK/€1.05/$1.55 - friendly for every wallet! "Yeah, but what movies? Rancid B-movies at best?" Well, no : Nurse Betty, Romance and Cigarettes, Out Of Time etc., all in their original English presentation, with "Svenska" subtitles.   First photo of Sweden 19 January 2008 That's a whole lotta apples ...   Sweden 17 January 2008 I arrived, safe and sound, in Sundsvall, Sweden. "Sweden? The land of chocolate?" Nope, you're thinking "Belgium" (or Germany, Simpsons fans). "Sweden? The land of ABBA, Roxette, The Hellacopters, SAAB, H&M, Volvo and Astrid Lindgren?" Correct, but clichés are to be avoided. I'll be down here for the next 5-odd months, to study journalism and learn the language. Exciting? Sensational? Supreme? All that ... and more!   Transformers 2 January 2008 Review of the Michael Bay movie.   Bruce Springsteen in concert/Cartoon 27 December 2007 - Bruce Springsteen concert review - James Blunt cartoon   Retro III/Cartoons 24 December 2007 - More about my love for retro. - Keith Richards | Paul McCartney | David Bowie | Bruce Springsteen   New cartoons 20 December 2007 Sean Penn | Peepshow | Lily Was Here | Rufus Wainwright | Michael Bublé | Waterloo   New cartoons/photo 27 November 2007 - Sequel to The Velvet Underground & Nico | Disadvantages of a loud discothčque - Just A Man Of The Shadow I Used To Be   Moral question 24 November 2007 Two wrongs make a right, right? Well then ... is a copy of a bootleg legal?   Scans from other publications 22 November 2007 - Belgian weekly Story asked 'famous Belgians' (cough) what their favourite superhero and/or heroine is. Former Miss Belgium Tanja Dexters revealed hers : H-Man. Why thank you, miss Dexters, for hyping my comic strip. - Look at this commercial for V.Smile. The handheld edition is more expensive than the "console for TV" edition. That's a first! Well, actually, it isn't. The TurboExpress (the portable TurboGrafx or PC Engine from NEC) was also steeper than its big daddy. But still, the other way around is common.   Live In Dublin/Brolin 20 November 2007 - Live In Dublin, a 2CD plus DVD set chronicling a Bruce Springsteen does Pete Seeger concert, was released in June of 2007. Ergo, a mere 5 months ago. The recommended asking price in the Belgian retail trade was €25/$35. Yesterday, I only paid €6.90/$9.60 in German chain Saturn, which I critized earlier for their 'too cheap for their own good' policy. Yeah, ok, call me a sell out, but I could not resist. €6.90!? Must be because I didn't mention the war. - Josh Brolin, one of my cinematic heroes because he's one of The Goonies, is finally getting the recognition he deserves. He apparently steals the show in Ridley Scott's American Gangster and he's getting Oscar buzz for the Coen's No Country For Old Men. Johnny Betts, one of my favourite cinematic reviewers on the net, has been supporting him for over 10 years. Betts' namechecking Brolin turned out to be well worth the effort. Well done, Johnny, you have a finger on the pulse!   Stardust/Cartoons 18 November 2007 - review of the movie Stardust. - new cartoons : Mika Häkkinen | Harry Potter | Cartman   Springsteen album + shocker 17 November 2007 - review of Magic, the new Bruce Springsteen and The E-Street Band album. - A music journalist once asked Bob Geldof, the force behind "Live Aid" and "Live8", why certain artists (e.g. The Rolling Stones, Radiohead) didn't appear on either (one) of these super gigs. Geldof found an excuse for the absence of most of these artists and the journalist wrote them down in an article. My hero Bruce Springsteen was missing in action too, however. "What's up with that?" I asked that music journalist a week ago. "Some artists may have a 'nice and caring image', but that's just for show", he said - which is what Geldof told him. Springsteen, are you selfish and cold hearted? You did support Amnesty International & Vote For Change ... but why did you refuse to perform at Live Aid/8?   Rhetorical questions 8 November 2007 - Is Kate Nash a cute 20 year old? - Does Annelies Rutten have a sweet smile?   I wonder/Music 5 November 2007 - Can a lactose intolerant woman breast-feed her baby? - Peter De Voecht found another musical catchphrase : "all jizz, no piss". Thanks, Peter!   The times they are a-changing/Obituary 2 November 2007 - Yesterday, we ate some pancakes with 'ze family'; it's an annual tradition. I was talking with one of my mom's nephews and he told me he had bought a Nintendo DS, just for Brain Training. Why? Because his children's teacher had strongly advised parents to train their brain daily. Now that's certainly food for thought. Imagine, 15-odd years ago, our teacher saying : "Go out and buy a Game Boy!" to our parents. You would've laughed, right? I know it's a bit unfair to compare the Game Boy to the Nintendo DS, but still ... - "Actor and singer Robert Goulet, who shot to fame as Lancelot in the original Broadway production of Camelot, died Tuesday morning [31 October] at a hospital in Los Angeles while awaiting a lung transplant; he was 73." [source : www.imdb.com] Ah, mister Goulet. He smacked Millhouse in the face in the classic Simpsons episode "$pringfield". He was called "Mr. Poopie Pants" by Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun 21/2. Thanks for all the laughs.   American Idiot 31 October 2007 I'd like to stress again what a brilliant album Green Day's American Idiot is. It's a non-stop treat; a feast for the ears; all killer, no filler. Read that last sentence again : all cliches in music journalism, right? I reckon I can do better! American Idiot is : - all hit, no shit - all tops, no flops - all brill, no kill - all hot, no rot - all crackers, no slackers Send yours to the usual address!   Ernie Hudson 28 October 2007 I'm a big James Rolfe fan. Rolfe rose to fame in mid-2006 with his Angry Video Game Nerd short films, in which he critized bad video games. His YouTube account quickly became the place to be/see/be seen, as every new movie easily gathered 500,000+ viewers. Early 2007, he moved to ScrewAttack, which is the home of new Nerd episodes ever since. One of the best and thoroughly thought-out examples of his good rants on bad video games, is Ghostbusters for the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). Not only is the game a pain to play, one of the four Ghostbusters characters is actually missing. And, yes, guess who : the black one. Racists! Two weeks ago, I had the chance to interview Ernie Hudson, the actor who played the non-Caucasian Ghostbuster, on a convention of freaks and geeks in Ghent, Belgium. I told him about his character missing in action. Kris Vande Sande, a promising selfmade director, caught the interview on tape and placed the edited effort on YouTube. Thanks to some buzz, the video became a minor hit! As of today, 8,167 have seen it and the video has only been up for 8 days. Click here for the YouTube interview! And the biggest thrill? James Rolfe himself saw it, liked it and hyped it on his site!   Told you so 25 October 2007 Scroll down to the 19 July 2007 'Post'. At that point in time, the last Samantha Streets project mentioned on The Internet Movie Database was a one-off performance in an episode of CSI: Miami. And what is listed on her resume right now? The Girl From The Naked Eye. Yes, a feature length movie with miss Streets in a starring role. I'd love to believe that Hollywood listened to my suggestion. Samantha, go girl!   Don't overdo it 24 October 2007 Tomorrow, a new super budget shop in opening in Antwerp : Saturn or "multimedia ŕ la MediaMarket". Very nice, but I object against their 'too cheap' price policy. For example, the brand new CD from Belgian band Fixkes : €11.50 or a stellar €7 less than the average asking price. How will small, independent shops stay alive!?   It was the worst of times 23 October 2007 2007 is also shaping up to be the ultimate disaster year! Three beloved ones have already passed away : the brother of one of my best friends at age 27, the aforementioned G.M. at age 22 and last week my Granny at age 70. "Hard Times", to quote The Scabs.   Live Baby Live 4 October 2007 I was never a big concert attendee. Every year, I'd see one or two shows tops. But 2007 is shaping up to be the ultimate gig year! The Who [June], The Police [October], Meat Loaf, Herman Van Veen & Chuck Berry [November] and Bruce Springsteen with The E-Street Band [December]. Yeah!   Hal Blaine/Gear from yesteryear 28 September 2007 - Hero Hal Blaine. - Do you remember the ViewMaster? I found mine in a stack of old toys, together with three sets of reels. Dutch chain Kruidvat began selling refurbished ViewMasters and new VM-discs last month! So, for the first time in 12 years (I bought Casper in 1995), I purchased a VM-package (i.e. The Little Mermaid)! I love nostalgia ...   When will people understand Google? 27 September 2007 - "blu ray uk pay belgium ?" is not the way to find what you're looking for, my anonymous friend. However, you found my site through that description. - Another guy or gal typed "h-man comic" and, rightly, found my site. Could it be a fan? Or a coincidence?   Politically correct 26 September 2007 I consider myself politically correct when it comes to races and cultures. Yeah, I may have (had) some prejudices, but I'm sure everyone pleads guilty to that. I love Pablo Francisco's humour, I think Tyra Banks and Jennifer Hudson are incredibly attractive, Najib Amhali is funnier than most Belgian comedians, I have never made fun of Mohammed in a cartoon, Shigeru Miyamoto is my hero etc. I did find out something rather shocking this morning : I have never (ever!) drawn a woman from another race and/or culture. How 'uncorrect' is that?! So, in an effort to clean up my White and Nerdy image, here's a drawing of Serena Williams!   Bargain Bonanza 24 September 2007 - My best buy ever!? - I found two prerecorded MiniDiscs in a small shop in Antwerp : Sandinista! by The Clash and Stained Class by Judas Priest. A great find at €2/$2.8 apiece!   Games/Yes! 19 September 2007 - What's the deal with women and videogames? - The first Cash Converters (a second-hand shop) opened in Flanders. I immediately found a great bargain : Star Wars Rogue Squadron for the Nintendo64. Game, box and manual for €2.5/$3.4243. Yeah!   No! Lego! 17 September 2007 More or less one year ago (see the 11 September 2006 post), I told you about my quest for elusive LEGO sets. I'm always on the lookout for production numbers 6274, 6276 and 6990. Especially 6274 & 6276, the only two from the 1989 (that's a year, not a production number) "Pirate" line my collection lacks. Yesterday, an extremely beautiful copy of 6274 (The Governor's Ship) was auctioned on eBay. Box, manual, plastic wrappings and more importantly 'the pieces' : all intact. A mint version, as collectors put it. A dream come true for a LEGO Pirate fan. So I set aside my principles and was prepared to pay a whole lotta money. €150 ($205.46), no less. "I'm safe", I reckoned, "no one will pay more than that". With only 2 minutes to go, the highest bid was €102.53. Then the unthinkable happened : "Sorry, you were outbid. This item sold to erretre for EUR 152.50" appeared in big, black letters. The quest for the LEGO still continues ...   New drawing 16 September 2007 [cartoon]   Hail EMI! 13 September 2007 My dad's copy of Axelle Red's acclaimed new CD Jardin Secret (literally Secret Garden) was bugged. The digipak, booklet and label were all correct, but the content wasn't. Instead of 13 new Axelle-tracks, we got Kate Ryan and Milk Inc. etc. It turned out to be a Now Dance 2006 volume 3 compilation. I e-mailed EMI, Axelle Red's label, and they replaced my defunct album with a brand new, working copy. Just one day and a half after I kindly complained, a proper Jardin Secret arrived. Wow! EMI may be a major, but they sure know how to treat their customers. Please, audience, never ever download an EMI album again.   IMDB 250/Obituaries II 5 September 2007 - I love a movie now and then. But which films included in the famed IMDB Top 250 have I actually seen? - Creepy : just last week, I enjoyed the Dutch film Pietje Bell. I was rooting for actor Roef Ragas, whom I remembered from an episode in the Flodder TV series. A few days later, on 30 August, he passed away at age 42. Too young! - Peter Crombecq, the father of a friend of mine, is a renowned beer connoisseur. As such, I knew who Michael Jackson was since I was 6 years old. On 30 August, he passed away at age 65. Quite young.   Into the wild HD DVD yonder 27 August 2007 Back in 2002, I started 'the Posts' because I was inspired by the collective works of American author D. Trull. Five years later, I'm no less of an avid reader of his site. In his 16 July 2007 article, Trull raved about his new PlayStation3 which permitted him to experience movies on a Blu-ray disc. In a rare move, I disagree with his vision. I, for one, have bought a HD DVD player last Wednesday. Yes, I'm aware Blu is going to win this current so-called format war, but I have some good reasons to - currently - support HD DVD. The price of the equipment ($399 compared to $799), the sweet offer from Toshiba - "Buy our product and receive 4 free discs!" - and Paramount & Universal being exclusive for at least the next few months. So how am I going to add the excellent Ratatouille and The Simpsons Movie (both Blu-ray exclusives) to my personal collection? Well, I'm in luck. My laptop is 6 and a half years old and ready to retire. Why not buy a VAIO, an HP or an ACER notebook? All include a Blu-ray drive. What format war?   Julian's Posts turns 5 24 August 2007 ... but no major breakthrough or worldwide fame. 5 years and two days ago, I started this site. Five years and still, it seems like it was only yesterday when my first rant was published here. Readers have come and gone (mostly gone). I'd like to thank my small but faithful audience ; you know who you are.   The Simpsons Movie 1 August 2007 [review]   Quickies 19 July 2007 - Ratatouille : Pixar does it again! Don't you dare miss it! - Saved! : cute 2004 film. Check it out. - I saw an episode of Cold Case featuring young actress Samantha Streets. She blew me away with her convincing performance. Come on, Hollywood, give her a starring role! - A friend of mine, G.M., committed suicide last week. Poor G. Keep tight, wherever you are ...   Random ramblings 16 June 2007 I've got some subjects I want to talk about, but I don't want to flesh them out. Is Sony screwing its fans? Is Scorsese a good director? All this, and more, on a compilation of "what's on my mind".   Batteries not included 10 June 2007 Our VCR is in our home since 1989. Yesterday, I had to replace the batteries of the remote control. Is that even remotely possible, 18 years of power from only 4 AAA's?   The Rolling Stones 13 May 2007 It ain't easy to remain relevant after 43 years in the business. But believe me, The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang is a fantastic album! Example? Listen to first single Streets Of Love. Mick Jagger's falsetto voice is just beautiful. Wow. Hats off to you, Stones!   Confessions of a stand-up comedy lover/Inflation 12 May 2007 - Chris Rocks! - 1993 = €40/$52 = average price of Game Boy cartridge 2007 = €40/$52 = average price of Nintendo DS cartridge Inflation? Where?   Men I envy 5 May 2007 - Mr. Regina Spektor - Mr. Laetitia Casta   Just a thought/just a thought II/Endless Wire 3 May 2007 - PlayStation 3 rhymes with Wii. Wouldn't it be great to see them two giants working together? PlayStation Wii = Zelda with the look and sound of Blu-Ray! Come on, Sony/Nintendo, bury the hatchet. - Generally, I'm not into boysbands. Too fake, too dependant on good looks, too much for girls. But I have to come out of the closet : Patience by Take That is a brilliant song. - review of Endless Wire by The Who   Tron/Bargains 21 April 2007 - Tron review (Game Boy Advance) - new software   Christopher Lloyd 13 April 2007 You have to be a nerd to grasp the thrill of yesterday : I met Christopher Lloyd, an American actor. Fester (from The Addam's Family), the villain from 1993's Dennis The Menace ... and Doc Brown in Back To The Future, by far my favourite movie of all time. Lloyd received a lifetime achievement award - refer to him as 'Knight in the Order of the Raven' from now on - at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasic Film (BIFFF). Afterwards, the audience had the opportunity to ask a question and get an autograph. I had written a poem for mr. Lloyd, which I handed over when he signed my DVD. Pleasantly surprised by my 'gift', he shook my hand. My digital camera is quite unreliable (shaky pictures without flash, dark pictures with flash), but here's a photo nonetheless :   Obituaries 1 April 2007 - the founding father of the Panini stickers passed away at age 75. Thank you, Mr. Panini, for hours and hours of fun during my youth. And damn you for all the money (my parents/I) spent trying to fill these books. - Richard Jeni, actor and stand-up comedian, took his own life last month. I'll remember him as the funny Charlie Schumaker in Jim Carrey's The Mask. His sketch on Jaws 4 is a must see, by the way!   MiniDisc/Weight 22 March 2007 - I still use MiniDisc, for I love niche products. According to Wikipedia, "Stealth recordists, in particular, continue to favour MD". Funny. - My weight this morning : 66,6 kilos (or 133,2 lbs). Did I sell my soul to him?   Nintendo DS vs. PSP 20 March 2007 [an opinion]   Game developers 19 March 2007 Three legendary game developers from the 80's that worked on Commodore, Apple II and Atari have undergone a sex change : Dan Bunten became Dani Bunten, Bill Heineman became Rebecca Ann Heineman and Roger Wilson is now Sophie Wilson. Nothing to worry about, but it makes you wonder : will we ever see a Wilma Wright or a Petra Molyneux?   Jackson Browne 18 March 2007 Hero Jackson Browne   Fond of fonts 11 March 2007 What does "Arial" mean anyway? "Verdana" anyone?   Endless Wire 10 March 2007 Endless Wire by The Who, released in October 2006, was only available on CD. I decided to wait for a possible vinyl issue. I was in luck : the LP, priced at €26/$31.2 (which made me moan), was announced last month. Damn those major record companies! Records from small independents are always cheaper than those from the big guys (who are already rich beyond imagination). What a topsy-turvy world we live in. But the price then lowered to €20/$24. That's a normal price for a LP. Today, Endless Wire arrived and I only had to pay €15.90/$19.08! Why? Who knows. I bought my copy in FatKat, the best store in Antwerp for new vinyl, in Lange Koepoortstraat (Long Cow's Gate Street).   Women 14 February 2007 Angela Merkel, Ségolčne Royal, Hillary Clinton ... the Chancellor of Germany, a candidate for the 2007 French presidential election and a possible candidate for the United States presidential election of 2008. Women are finally all revved up in politics and I couldn't be happier. It's about time we (men) faced the facts : women are just as talented as we are! Imagine Hillary Clinton becoming the first female president of the most powerful nation in the world. From a journalist's point of view, a dream come true.   Bat Out Of Hell III 11 February 2007 In October, I ordered the vinyl version of Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell III in my local record store. The clerk told me the record had to be imported from the UK. For unknown reasons, that edition got cancelled. Halfway through December, I was in luck : Bat III was available on USA-import. Yesterday, it arrived. Release of the CD : October. The LP : February. Shame on you, Virgin/EMI!   Funny in French 10 February 2007 Some guy typed Julian de Fabuland in the French version of Google and found my site. I can understand that, because he didn't use quote-unquote. Therefore, Google gives you a list of all possible sites including the words "Julian", "de" and "Fabuland". "De" is French for "of". I have never heard of a "Julian" in Fabuland, but hey, it's nice. What's all the more hilarious, is the fact that Google.fr has an option to translate an entire page into French. Maybe it's available in Dutch as well, but I never thought about it. I clicked on the "translate"-link and ... Google managed to squirt out an entire "Julian's Posts" in French! Completely ludicrous! I saved the page so you can see for yourself. So many faults! You can't translate "GameBoy" as "garçon de jeu" (literally "a boy of game"). Note to my (potential) French readers : use a dictionary to look up the words you don't understand, but don't let Google translate the page. You won't get any wiser.   Return of the Retro Junkie 9 February 2007 My Dreamcast arrived today. Quite a fancy console and, as some of you may not know, the last one Sega produced before they became a software publisher dedicated to rival machines (Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft). As an 8 year old in the early 90's, I had a monochrome Game Boy. Back then, I thought it would be cool to see a collaboration between the main competitors Sega and Nintendo. Sonic The Hedgehog on Game Boy or Mario on Game Gear. It never came to fruition. After the demise of the Dreamcast, Sonic did appear on other platforms. Funny how things change.   Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD 7 February 2007 Right now, most people in Belgium are thinking about 'getting a DVD player'. They're cheaper than ever and a healthy library of strong titles is available. So why bother releasing not one but two new formats some mere 9 years after DVD debuted? It makes no sense at all. If you have a High Definition TV, yes. If you care to splash out yet again for your favorite titles, yes. But the Movie Joe Average doesn't care for higher resolution and better sound. Besides, isn't DVD great as it is? The difference between VHS and DVD blew everyone away (even LaserDisc affecionados), now the distinction is more 'evolutionary' than 'revolutionary'. Of course, I'm interested in these new formats. But relevant, they aren't.   Drawing 4 February 2007 Laura Pausini   Pattern 2 February 2007 The legendary Sun Records had a jam session in 1956 called "Million Dollar Quartet" : Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley. Yesterday, it came upon me that all four have a song with pyrotechnics in it. Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire", Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls Of Fire", Carl Perkins' "Matchbox" and Elvis Presley's "Burning Love" (or "His Latest Flame"). Coincidence?   Bargains 30 January 2007 Baten Kaitos : an epic adventure roleplaying game for Gamecube. It's out since 2005 (in Europe), but the price (€60) never lowered. Yesterday, I stumbled upon a mint copy for €10/$12! Pikmin 2 : the follow-up to a very fun strategygame for Gamecube. It's out since 2004, but - damn those shops - the price ($72) remained the same. Today, I found a copy untouched by human hands for €10/$12!   Bruce Springsteen II 29 January 2007 For one reason or the other, I am mentioned on a site from Slovakia! I have written a review of Springsteen's latest album last April and the site "quotes" me. According to this guide for learning the Czech language, the word "nudný" means "boring". And indeed, as I state in my review, "there's never a dull moment on this album". Quite interesting. I don't know how long the article will stay online, so here's a fragment : Nedajte sa pomýlit – ide o štúdiový album a jeho obsah je vysoko profesionálny. Ako napísal Julian De Backer, "na tomto albume nie je nudný moment". (source : www.tribal.sk)   Bruce Springsteen/My Fair Lady 28 January 2007 - Review of the Bruce Springsteen concert in Antwerp. - I saw "My Fair Lady" on stage last November. The Dutch production and cast was top notch. Céline Purcell in particular was much more than just an ersatz Audrey Hepburn.   Best of 2006/Drawing 21 January 2007 Music from 2006 | Games from 2006 | Films from 2006 | Calley Westwood #4   Cartoon/Wii III/Stephanie II 11 December 2006 - New cartoon - Wii rocks! - Stephanie Clerckx (see January 10) has done a second photoshoot for Belgian weekly P-Magazine. That's twice in 2006. Not bad! - [teaser]   Retro II/Wii II 5 December 2006 - More about my love for retro. - Three days before launch, I already found a Wii-game for sale. Pretty useless. [Three generations]   Mariska/Men 4 December 2006 Mariska Veres, leadsinger of Shocking Blue, died the day before yesterday. Shocking Blue was one of the very few bands from the Netherlands who made it big in the USA. Their best known song Venus went to number one on the Billboard charts. Veres was only 59 and suffered from cancer. Some men really are chauvinist pigs. Today, I was walking on the street when a beautiful gal came by. A few 'workers' couldn't resist and started to whistle and sing. Granted, they sang Puerto Rico by Vaya Con Dios (a very good song), but that's no excuse for this shameless behaviour. For a minute, I was ashamed to be a man. Only for a minute.   Wii 2 December 2006 The Wii, Nintendo's new console, will be released on 8 December in Europe. Today, I visited a gamestore in Antwerp that already has an American Wii. It attracted a huge crowd of punters, eager to get their mits on the anticipated piece of hardware. It was funny to see grown up men wielding the Wii remote as if they were working out. The Wii has potential, because it appeals to all (well, most) ages. I didn't bother to wait in line to try it out, because - come this friday - I'll have my own Wii. And yes, I could feel guilty for buying it immediately. But I have been saving for it since September 2005. Hardly "greedy", isn't it?   Bette Davis Eyes 5 November 2006 A friend of mine, Ellen Vermorgen, gave me a 3 CD-set called They Sold A Million : Eighties, filled with cheesy 80's hits and some genuine classics. I rediscovered Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes. What a song!   The Little Mermaid 29 October 2006 Review of my favourite Disney ever.   B.B. King 28 October 2006 True to his word, B.B. King did come back.   Bat Out Of Hell III 22 October 2006 Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell III : The Monster Is Loose will be released tomorrow (8 days ahead of the aforementioned releasedate of 31 October). "Rejoice!", I thought when I heard that the long rumoured third album was indeed in existence. But ... The first two Bat-albums were entirely written by the marvelous, larger-than-life Jim Steinman. Bat III is made without the involvement of Steinman. Yes, 7 songs are written by him (that's good), but Steinman had nothing to do with it (that's bad). Meat recorded these 7 as if they were ordinary "covers". A genuine third and last installment in the Bat-series is what I wanted, now I end up with a so-so effort. Don't get me wrong : I have not yet heard the album. I am not dissing the (possible) quality of it! I will buy the album tomorrow, because I want to hear it. There's a strong chance that it will be a very good album! But the knowledge that this album is not what it could have been, is a bitter pill to swallow.   Sopha/Mira 14 October 2006 Time to hype two Belgian bands : Sopha play a cocktail of funk, hiphop, big band and jazz. They're extremely talented! I hope that someday a bigshot at EMI or Universal will realise their potential. They deserve a record deal. They deserve to be available on CD or vinyl. Mira is a female pianoplayer with touching melodies and funny lyrics. Example? One song is called Soiled Toilets. She just signed to a record company (way to go, Mira!). The downside? She sings in Dutch, so she will never receive worldwide attention. After all, has a Dutch song ever been a charttopping hit?   The Little Mermaid 11 October 2006 Disney's The Little Mermaid is finally given the Special Edition DVD-treatment. 18 October 2006? I know what I'm buying!   0110 2 October 2006 Yesterday the 0110 concerts against racism and intolerance took place, the closest we'll ever get to Live Aid in Belgium. The event was held in four cities : Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent and Chaleroi. Many notable Belgian artists performed. Tom Barman, local musician and pothead, organised it all. You could have heard of him : his rockgroup dEUS is even mentioned in The Great Rock Discography by Martin C. Strong. This photo captures the message of 0110 : be tolerant, love all cultures, don't support racism.   The Goonies 25 September 2006 I visited a small movie convention yesterday, when I stumbled upon a poster seller. I asked for a The Goonies-poster and ... yes, he had one for sale! It's not a reprint, but an original, 21-year old poster "printed in Belgium ; licensed by Warner-Columbia" (to be used in theaters, cinema's, the works) with a large blank space above the poster, where the cinema could write its name plus the showing times. The poster was wallet-friendly at just $7! Yes, I'm happy! I've been looking for a The Goonies poster for a long, long time ...   Games/Springsteen 23 September 2006 Belgian chain of shops FUN did a massive discount on games today. I bought three Gamecube-games : Doshin The Giant [$2], Second Sight [$9] and Eternal Darkness [$3]. The last two got 90% reviews in the press! I had the chance to buy two of these games this summer for a discount of 70% on the original price of $45, but that means they still would have cost me $13.50 apiece. Now, I have three games for $14! Happy birthday, Bruce!   Music 20 September 2006 The holiday period (Christmas, the new year) sees the release of countless 'greatest hits' & 'best of' packages. However, 'late 2006-early 2007' will be an extremely memorable one! No less than four legendary artists plan to release a new album. I'm looking forward to : a. Eagles' The Long Road To Eden [first studio album in 28 years!] b. The Who's Endless Wire [first studio album in 24 years!] c. Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell III : The Monster Is Loose [13 years in the making] d. Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy [13 years in the making - should it ever see the light of day] Two of those albums (The Who's & Meat Loaf's) are released within a two-day period (30 & 31 October 2006). Yes, that will be a memorable musical marathon! Hail these acts!   Lego/Drawings/DVD 11 September 2006 - the quest for the Lego Space Monorail - I bought Spider-Man 2 on DVD for $5. Is it my imagination or were VHS tapes never that cheap? - new drawings : 1. Seriously improved friend of mine Stephanie [before] - [after] 2. The Little Mermaid (1998 sketches) 3. Third Calley Westwood-drawing (my best yet?!) 4. Kelly Clarkson 5. Hilde De Baerdemaeker 6. Kid   Drawings 7 September 2006 George Lucas once said "a movie is never completed, there's always something you're unsatisfied with". The same goes for drawings, in my opinion. Here, I refurbished two drawings I was unhappy with. It should be an improvement. 1. Jennifer Garner [before] - [after] 2. Emily Browning [before] - [after] I also made a new legal MiniDisc of Bruce Springsteen's The Rising. Here's the cover.   What are the odds? 3 September 2006 I just wrote about Lego's Fabuland (see below) and how difficult it is to find these toys. There was a garagesale in my hometown today and I found a complete 1979 Fabuland set (in the original packaging), with only the manual not included. The price? $3! I also bought 5 vinyl record albums : Golden Earring's N.E.W.S., U2's Rattle And Hum, Vaya Con Dios' eponymous debut, Eagles' Hotel California and the soundtrack to the Belgian 1980 blockbuster Whitey.   Fabuland/Bill Watterson/Salma Hayek/Calley Westwood 1 September 2006 - Text about Lego's fantastic Fabuland. - Hero Bill Watterson - Drawing of Mexican beauty Salma Hayek. - Second drawing of English beauty Calley Westwood.   Dead Man's Chest/Ray/Retro 8 August 2006 - Review of the movie Dead Man's Chest. - Review of the movie Ray. - Text about my love for retro stuff.   Paul Young/Eric Clapton 3 August 2006 - Whatever happened to Paul Young? - Why is Eric Clapton a hero?   Moolaj/ACtion in DC 25 July 2006 - New Belgian sensation Moolaj. - Dutch professionals ACtion in DC.   Guilty pleasures 21 July 2006 Read more   American Idiot/As Good As It Gets 30 June 2006 - Review of Green Day's American Idiot. - Review of As Good As It Gets.   Books 2 May 2006 I rarely read a good book. Here's why.   Bruce II/Jessica 30 April 2006 - Review of Bruce Springsteen's We Shall Overcome : The Seeger Sessions - Jessica Alba drawing   Bruce 26 April 2006 We Shall Overcome, the new Bruce Springsteen-album, got rave reviews in Belgian newspaper The Tomorrow today. Five stars out of five! I'm planning to buy the album this week.   My Fair Lady 2 April 2006 I've got a love for retrostuff. I try to find as many hard- and software from yesteryear as possible and if possible at a good price. [read more]   Nintendogs 26 March 2006 I had some spare money gathering dust, so I found the guts to shell out for a guilty pleasure : a new handheld console! I had not bought one since the very first, original GameBoy in 1992. "Bought" as in "received from my parents as a gift", because you didn't buy things in those glory days. The Nintendo DS is a little marvel. It's even able to play GameBoy Advance-games. The game that came bundled with it, Nintendogs, is just great. My labrador is always happy to see me. Yeah, it's pathetic but it's fun.   Brokeback Mountain 18 March 2006 [review]   Walk The Line 11 February 2006 [review]   Wilson Pickett 20 January 2006 I first heard the name "Wilson Pickett" when I saw The Blues Brothers-film. "This was for Wilson Pickett" shouts Jake Blues. When I saw "The Commitments", I heard a fantastic song : "Mustang Sally". Original version by Wilson Pickett. He was one of the very greats. He died at age 64 a.k.a. "too young". So long and good luck, Mr. Pickett.   Drawings 19 January 2006 Eva Mendes | Rik Boey | Scarlett Johansson IV | Maarten Roofthooft | Raphael | Nicolas Naets | Estella Warren   Drawings/Best of 2005 15 January 2006 - New drawings : Emma Watson | A woman - 2005 in music | 2005 in games.   Drawings/Photos/Narnia 10 January 2006 - New drawings : Natalie Portman | Pregnant Woman | Knight - Some new photos - I bought Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 for €4/$5. It hasn't improved since part 1, but it's still great fun! - I wrote an article about my unfinished games. - I saw The Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe - Stephanie Clerckx, one of my 'models', has done a photoshoot for Belgian weekly P-Magazine. It's on sale today. Way to go, Stephanie! She'll be a big star soon.   Two Jennifers 25 December 2005 - Jennifer Garner is a beautiful woman. - Jennifer Connelly is a beautiful woman.   B.B. King/Serenity/Photos 5 December 2005 - Review of the fantastic B.B. King show in Brussels. - Review of the movie Serenity. - Two new photos : Dimi Kaufman - Spider   AC/DC 1 December 2005 Review of the multiplatinum album Back In Black.   a-ha 13 November 2005 Damn! I wanted to see a-ha's concert in Brussels. I thought that was due this wednesday. Then I found out they're actually playing tonight. It's too late to go now. What a pity.   Beauty And The Beast 6 November 2005 - One of my favourite movies, finally reviewed. - A Beauty in her own right : Kristin Kreuk   Corpse Bride/drawing 31 October 2005 - Tim Burton is back. Does it warrant viewing? - New drawing : Treasure Planet's John Silver   Who? 14 October 2005 I saw Roger Daltrey today. He was just walking on the Meir in Antwerp. Amazing! I didn't talk to him however, because I hate freaky and obnoxious fans. If you haven't heard of him, I've got three words for you : Baba O' Riley. - War Of The Worlds-review - Revenge Of The Sith-review   Revenge on "Revenge" 26 June 2005 My critique on a Revenge Of The Sith review gets published in Belgian weekly Focus Knack - [in Dutch, sorry]   New heroes, review, photos, drawings and puns 25 June 2005 - heroes : Jim Steinman | Bruce Springsteen - retrospective review after Attack Of The Clones got an airing on television. - photos : Vettig Glaske | Girl With Shades | Ive's Hands | Young Garfunkel | Arachnaphobia - drawings : Browning | Cudna | Heigl | Holmes | Johansson | Swank | Westwood - Made up Michael Jackson songtitles with food.   Treasure Planet/Photos/Heroes/Drawings 10 May 2005 - Disney's Treasure Planet is worthy of your attention. - A bunch of new photos. - Two new heroes reviewed and rated : Blue Blot | Mark Knopfler - Drawings : Luke Walter Jr. - Michael Jackson and Slash - Scarlett Johansson II   The Simpsons/Natalie Portman 1 April 2005 - In anticipation of the fifth season being released on DVD, I wrote down why I love The Simpsons. - Natalie Portman drawing.   Collage 5 March 2005 Here's a collage of drawings I made while bored during class. They're not spectacular.   H-Man 25 January 2005 This will be a day long remembered for me. It's always been one of my childhood-dreams to make and release a full-length comic strip. "Full length" in Belgium means "48 pages". Today, I've completed pages 43-48. Now all 48 are there (let's call that "principal photography"), now all they need is background and little tweaks (let's call that "post production"). I can't wait to see what the finished product will look like!   Best of 2004 19 January 2005 I've made a list of the quality music/games from 2004 : music of 2004 | games of 2004.   Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events 24 December 2004 The books rock, the movie rocks as well. And Merry Christmas to y'all!   Jim Steinman's "Bad For Good" 22 December 2004 One of the essential albums of the early 80's : Jim Steinman's Bad For Good.   Emily Browning 20 December 2004 The young actress from Ghost Ship and Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events. She's an absolute sweetie-pie (the eyes! the lips!), so she had to be drawn.   Dangerous 19 December 2004 Just hyping the classic Michael Jackson album. Go on, read and buy!   Three New Photographs 16 December 2004 The Haunted Mansion | No Purple Haze | Moody Hotel   November Rain 23 November 2004 I took a photograph inspired by the classic Guns N' Roses song.   Much Ado About Acting 13 November 2004 Arne Keustermans, the critically acclaimed whizz-kid director of The Diary and The Profession, was filming an interior pubscčne today, barflies and brawls included. He needed some supporting actors for his upcoming biographical short Wait Until Fall, Bandini, so I gave my first performance ever to be captured on Betacam. I play a "stoned dude who takes a sniff of coke". Typecasting.   Gabriel García Márquez/Amélie/Shrek 2 11 November 2004 - He's in my heart since June 2002, but now I wrote down why. - I finally saw Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain last week. The French movie was a phenomenal success after its release in 2001, even snatching up three Academy Award-nominations, including Best Foreign Film and Best Cinematography. Director J.P. Jeunet created a marvellous, entertaining and touching movie with Audrey Tautou in the title role. She's so sweet, fragile and tender that you're afraid she might break if you drop her. Brilliant, brilliant movie! - Shrek 2 review   Hellboy 5 November 2004 [english] - [dutch]   Arr! 17 October 2004 I bought my first Hook action figure (mint in package) on the F.A.C.T.S.-convention (9 and 10 October 2004) in Ghent, Belgium for 7.5 euro. Not bad at all, considering it wasn't some unknown pirate, but Captain James Hook himself. Today, I finally bought the Hook-dvd for 9.90 euro, which is a very wallet-friendly purchase. Two favoured Hook items in 8 days. Good quota!   Christopher Reeve 11 October 2004 I never saw Superman or any of the sequels, but I admired the man who fought and continued to believe in ever walking again after his paralyzing accident. He was a great support for people with equal symptoms. He was a true hero : not as an actor, but as a human. The death toll is recent Hollywood history is catastrophic : Jerry Goldsmith, Marlon Brando, Fay Wray, Janet Leigh, Rodney Dangerfield, Russ Meyer and now Christopher Reeve. If you believe in something called heaven, they sure must be having a movie marathon up there ...   Episode III 16 September 2004 Star Wars - Episode III is due May next year. The official poster hasn't been published (neither has the trailer), so the fans are still wondering what it will look like. Here's my two cents : [poster]   Avril Lavigne-drawing 08 September 2004 It's been almost two months without an update. Go and blame the so-called university "retakes". Still two to go, but I thought I'd take a break and draw Avril. She's not a natural beauty, but you got to love her eyes. "The drawing doesn't resemble her at all" (dixit Stijn Creten from Art Of The Jedi). [small size] - [full size]   Angelina Jolie-drawing 11 July 2004 She's a stunning beauty, no doubts there. [check]   New Photos 11 June 2004 [check]   New Photos/Drawing 8 June 2004 - For years, I've been trying to make the Stephanie Clerckx photo. Then she tries it herself and does a better job than anyone ever did before. An affectionate, mysterious and intriguing photo. - Quinten Abadir, a guy from my class last year, in Rome. - The Peter Peeters's Jackazz-Sessions, the life of a bad boy in six pictures. - The Boss Stephanie [by Stephanie] Quinten [by Julian] Peter Peeters's "Jackazz Sessions" [by Julian] Murder Incorporated [by Julian]   Jeff Buckley-drawing 2 May 2004 If only he had not taken that dive in the Mississipi. Jeff Buckley, son of equally tragical musician Tim Buckley, was one of the major talents the early 90's spawned. The only album he saw the release of, the 1994 "Grace", was a debut album filled with beautiful self-written material and fantastic covers, Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" being the most recognizable. Jeff's voice was sweet and full of heartfelt passion. [small] - [full size]   Scarlett Johansson-drawing 23 March 2004 Kirsten Dunst firmly held the number one spot for a year and a half, but since I saw Lost In Translation three days ago, lead-actress Scarlett Johansson rocketeered to the top-position to stay for some time. She's an amazing actress, with a brilliant performance (shame on you, Academy! Although I'll give Charlize a chance as well. "Monster" is due next week in Belgian theaters). She's a stunning beauty too, so I tried to draw her ... [small] - [full size] - [Lost In Translation review]   New photographs! 21 February 2004 Some new photographs   The Funk Of 40,000 Years 12 February 2004 Back in 1994 and 1995, when the dinosaurs weren't extinct yet and all animals still spoke, I had just discovered the world of computers. I used my very first Mac (a Performa 630) mostly to make drawings, using Clarisworks. Today, almost 10 years later, I fired up my new eMac and made a new drawing. It's the cover from the biggest selling album of all time.   Elephant - The Poster 18 January 2004 Without a doubt the strongest movie from 2003, with one of the most touching movieposters ever made. I've tried to recapture the brilliance of the original.   A smooth criminal or an innocent man? 15 January 2004 The "MJ"-case/lawsuit/muchadoaboutnothing starts tomorrow. Better support him while we still can. Here's my personal top-10.   Alizée 13 January 2004 Drawings : [1] - [2]   New Drawings 12 January 2004 Two sketches for a new comic strip with a female protagonist : [1] - [2]   Michael Jackson 14 December 2003 With the recent accusations, it's time to defend one of my heroes.   New photographs! 7 December 2003 Some new photographs   Finding Nemo 4 December 2003 "Finding Nemo" : funny, sweet, heartwarming and highly recommended. [Dutch review]   Amber Tamblyn | Hilary Duff 27 September 2003 - Amber Tamblyn, the actress from the The Ring-remake. - Improved Hilary Duff   Pirates Of The Caribbean - The Curse Of The Black Pearl 19 August 2003 I'm a lifelong pirate-addict (The Goonies, Lego, Hook). One of my favorite Disneyland-attractions turned into a movie? Bring it on! [Dutch] - [English]   Agent Cody Banks 23 July 2003 For those who are too old for Spy Kids and too young for Bond ... my review! - [check]   New drawings! 3 July 2003 Jennifer Love Hewitt & Pamela Anderson   Right... 1 May 2003 The Legend of Zelda : The Wind Waker (NGC) [more info] was set to be released on 3 May 2003 in Europe. I already ordered my copy in a local gamestore, to ensure I'd have the game as soon as possible. Yesterday, I got a phonecall from the store that "Zelda" already arrived today, on 30 April 2003. VERY strange. Nintendo must've forgotten to delay the game. That's what they usually do. 30 April 2003 must be one of those 5NOV-BackToTheFuture-style dates, that combines all the forces of the universe. Yes, because X2 or X-MenII got released here TWO DAYS BEFORE THE US. Right. What's next? EpisodeIII a month earlier?!   New photos/drawings! 28 April 2003 - Shakira : number 4 on my "chicas of all time"-list. So I've tried to draw her. Let me know what you think of the incomplete drawing - [check] - Two drawings from the Walt Disney motion picture "The Little Mermaid" - [check] - Photos from "Goldmemberz", the CLUB GOLD-party on 5 April, 2003 - [check]   New drawings/updates 6 March 2003 - Three drawings from three friends of mine; Ank, Marieke and Willem! - [check] - Updates in "Music", "Films", "Games" ...   A new drawing! 25 January 2003 Beavis - "I'm Cornholio!" [small] - [full size]   Julian presents ... The Goonies! 12 November 2002 The Goonies ... a timeless classic! I love this movie to bits, so I made a site about it. [enter site]   Our trip to Vienna 10 October 2002 Me and my class have visited Vienna! Check the specially created mini-site! [enter site]   JozzFest 5 October 2002 Webmaster yours truly turns 18 ... and celebrates in style. The photos! [see the photos]   The Hottest Tracks Ever! 15 September 2002 Definitive! Those essential purchases when you're standing in that cd-store and wondering what to take ... [the best songs ever]   My Kirsten Dunst-drawing 23 August 2002 She's still Number 1 on my "chicas of all time"-list. So I've tried to draw her! Let me know what you think ... [small] - [full size]   About "Attack of the Clones" 22 August 2002 Why "Attack of the Clones" is total crud and the other Star Wars-movies aren't... Read more... last update : Sunday 28 August 2011 online since : Thursday 22 August 2002