Randy Newman in Concert

On Sunday February 26th Randy Newman will play a solo concert in the cultural centre of Hasselt. I am one of the lucky people to have two tickets, but unfortunately my date can't make it. So if anybody is interested in joining me, send me a private message. Randy Newman is know to the public as either the greatest satirical songwriter of his era (Short People, I love L.A., Political Science, God's Song,...) or as the composer of film music who has been nominated 20 (!) times at the Academy Awards (Toy Story, Ragtime, Monsters Inc., Cars,...)

The Reader (2008): a review

I just finished watching The Reader, a movie from 2008 starring a brilliant Kate Winslet (has she ever been less than brilliant I wonder), Ralph Fiennes and David Kross. Looking for reviews on the internet, I was amazed reading that so many people consider Hanna as a monster. I thought the whole point of the movie was to show that nobody is a monster. There are no good or evil people, just mixtures of both. Our world is not black or white, and it is definitely not grey. No, we live in a multicolored universe.
Haven't we all had secrets in our lives? Both protagonists have secrets and because they want to hide them, they do wrong things. The question we should ask is not why they did these things, but whether they can live with the shame, the guilt and the consequences.  

I think it was well put in the movie that the law (our justice) is a very narrow and shallow thing. We do not judge people on the basis of morality, but on the basis of legality. And to make it more difficult: the legalitily of a certain period. What was considered right 50 years ago is considered wrong or racist or despicable in the 21st century.

The movie is dark, disturbing and doesn't provide answers. But it will make you think about your own decisions. I never read the book by Bernard Schlink but I'm sure I will soon.

Do you know these movies?

I am looking for two movies for a competition. I've tried everything but no success. Maybe you recognize one of these pictures. Looking forward to hearing from you!

World Premiere of The Adventures of Tintin

The time has finally come: Tintin returns to the big screen. After a first attempt in 1972 with the animation film "Tintin and the Shark Lake", it is now the turn of the great and certainly spectacular Hollywood Adaptation of three Tintin stories: The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn and the Treasure of the Scarlet Rackam. Merged in a Steven Spielberg production under the title: The Adventures of Tintin. The world premiere takes place on Saturday, October 22 in Brussels, and this will involve a lot specatulaire actions. For example, a long procession of vintage cars (which appear in the comics by Hergé) from the Place des Palais to the UGC Brouckère. There are also many other events planned by the Brussels Tourist Office.

flylo.co.uk.com.org.net.com.com

BeWelcome: a valid alternative to CouchSurfing

Now that CouchSurfing has revealed its true nature and gone Corporate (or should we say "they finally admitted that they have always been in it for the money"?) many travelers and users of Hospitality Exchange networks are looking for a valid alternative to Couch Surfing.

Number one contender would be www.bewelcome.org, a non-profit, free and open source travel and accommodation community run solely by volunteers. The number of members is still low (compared to the millions of CouchSurfing) but the community is strong and will hopefully benefit from the new members who don't necessarily like the changes that CS is going through.

Free tickets for AP Melancholia

Dearest readers,

I'm giving away 2 free tickets for tonight's Avant Première of Lars Von Trier's new movie, Melancholia. Just send me a message on FaceBook what you would like to give me in return for the two tickets, and the most original answer wins :)

Please only participate if you can attend the Avant Première tonight at 18h30 in the UGC Toison D'or, Monday August 8th.