"Natalia"

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This artist is sooooooo big in Belgium that one start wondering when the rest of the world will follow. I know that some of my friends in LA like her music a lot. They keep asking me to send them cd's from her. Both of them worked with Diana Ross and one with Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Beyonce, and many others... so they know what they're talking about!
I became a Natalia fan when she was a finalist in "Idols 2003". She didn't win although everybody thought she would. The winner was a guy but I can't even remember his name. Anyway, Natalia made it she even gave some concerts here in Belgium together with The Pointer Sisters which were fantastic! Here's Natalia with her rendition of the song that won me over during her "Idol" days.

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BRONZE FOR BELGIUM!!!!!

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He did it! He did it! He did it! I'm glad he listened to me after Skate America! Last time Belgium had a 3rd place at the European Championships was 60 years ago with Fernand Leemans. Now we have Kevin Van der Perren!

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KEVIN and Isabelle @ EUROPEANS

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The European Figure Skating Championships started this week and we do have two competitors there. Kevin Van der Perren and Isabelle Pieman. In fact we have three cause Jenna (Kevin's girlfriend) is also there and I concider her as one of us! Today Kevin had his short program and he came in 4th. This is the best result so far he ever had at Europeans. I hope he can (at least) hold that place or move up one spot to 3rd place! That would be great! Can you imagine that Belgium can have 3 Men next year? Any American, Canadian, or what so ever skater with a Belgian background can start auditioning right now to skate for Belgium... Anyway, good luck to Kevin, Isabelle and Jenna.
PS: I just saw a Pairs free program where I would have given a 9 for transitions.

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back to work.....

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Today we re-started with the renovation at my apartment after one year of doing nothing. We couldn't do much cause there was a problem with one of the walls so we had to stop and let that problem be fixed before we could continue. So.... today was the day! We start with the master bedroom (my bedroom that is) which will take a bout 3 months to complete. I know what I want and it took me some time to find everything what I was looking for. The right wall paper, ceiling, floor and furniture! Yes, furniture is very important to me. As you know by now I like all kinds of beautiful things... no matter what they are. Clothes, people, countries, cities, cars, etc... so also furniture. When it comes to that I some times have a very expensive taste. People who have visited my apartment will confirm this. Now for my bed room again I was looking for something special. I want to give it an exotic feeling (exotic, not erotic, although that won't hurt either...) like if I'm still on holiday on the Maldives or Seychelles or so. For those of you who never been to one of these islands I include a picture from what it looks like.

Enjoy.










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"Jean-Paul Gaultier"

I always liked fashion and when I was young which isn't that long ago... I wanted everything a little more extravagant. French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier was just the right man for me! He disigned what I liked! I don't have anything designed by him nowadays except my sunglasses which I bought for 11.000,-BEF (275,- Euro) back in 1988. When I told my mom how much it was I thought she was going to die! You have to know that I'm verry good in keeping things... Anyway, Jean-Paul Gaultier (born April 24, 1952, in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne) is a French fashion designer and past television presenter. Gaultier never received formal training as a designer. Instead, he started sending sketches to famous couture stylists at an early age. Pierre Cardin was impressed by his talent and hired him as an assistant in 1970. His first individual collection was released in 1976 and his characteristic irreverent style dates from 1981, and he has long been known as the enfant terrible (bad boy) of French fashion. Many of Gaultier's following collections have been based on street wear, focusing on popular culture, whereas others, particularly his Haute Couture collections, are very formal yet at the same time unusual and playful. Jean-Paul Gaultier produced sculptured costumes for Madonna during the nineties and has also worked in close collboration with Wolford Hosiery. He promoted the use of skirts, especially kilts on men's wardrobe, and the release of designer collections. Gaultier caused shock by using unconventional models for his exhibitions, like older men and full-figured women, pierced and heavily tattooed models, and by playing with traditional gender roles in the shows. This granted him both criticism and enormous popularity. Gaultier also designed the wardrobe of many motion pictures, including Luc Besson's The Fifth Element, Pedro Almodóvar's Kika, Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's La Cité des enfants perdus (The City of Lost Children).











Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour (including the iconic cone bra) also featured his creations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbHDhEiVt6M&mode=related&search



He currently designs for three collections: his own couture and ready-to-wear lines, as well as the newly relaunched clothing line for Hermès, a French leather goods company well-known for their equestrian background, scarves, and expensive and difficult to obtain handbags. Most recently, Jean-Paul Gaultier designed Madonna's wardrobe for her 2006 Confessions Tour, continuing their long-standing relationship. Gaultier has also designed a number of the costumes and outfits worn by rocker Marilyn Manson, including the outfits for Manson's Golden Age of Grotesque album. He's also well-known for his exhibit in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art known as Bravehearts - Men in Skirts.











Jean-Paul Gaultier is also known for a popular line of perfumes. His first fragrance, Classique, a women's floral-oriental, was introduced in 1993, followed by Le Mâle for men two years later. Both were highly successful, and Le Mâle is now the number-one men's fragrance in the European Union based on sales; it also holds a strong market position in Australia and the United States. There was a time that I used "Le Mâle" but recently I changed my parfume but more on that later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXAH8lLGQqg&mode=related&search

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Never, never, never

Here's Shirley's performance of the song I mentioned in the previous post


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The "Dame" from Great Britain!

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Born in January 1937 in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales, Shirley Bassey was the youngest of seven children. Her parents, a Nigerian sailor and an English woman, divorced before she was three years old, but they kept the family together for the most part, and Shirley was able to sing duets with her brother at family get-togethers. After finishing school, she found a job at a local factory, and earned extra money singing at men's clubs after-hours. Bassey traveled around the country in revues during the early '50s, and made her big breakout in 1955 at a London Christmas show given by comedian Al Read (though it was promoted by bandleader Jack Hylton, who had caught Bassey's act at the nearby Albany Club). Soon after, Shirley Bassey began appearing in Read's revue, Such Is Life. The show ran for over a year, and gained her a recording contract for Philips Records. "Banana Boat Song" hit the British Top Ten in early 1957, followed by her number one hits, 1959's "As I Love You" and 1961's "Reach for the Stars/Climb Every Mountain." A 1962 pairing with arranger Nelson Riddle increased her prestige in America, and a vaunted live show gained her headlining spots in both New York and Las Vegas during the early '60s. Popular recognition in the United States came in early 1965, when "Goldfinger" hit number eight in the American charts, instantly becoming her signature song across the Atlantic. (Strangely though, it missed even the Top 20 in Great Britain.) Here are the lyrics to my all time favorite Shirley Bassey song called; "Never, Never, Never" which I recently re-discovered and really fit to something what's going on in my personal life right now...


I'd like to run away from you
but if you never found me
I will die

I'd like to break the chains
you put around me
but I know I never will

You stay away and all I do
is wonder why the hell
I wait for you

But when did common sense prevail
to lovers when we know
it never will

Impossible to live with you
but I know I could never live without you
for whatever you do

I never never never want to be in love
with anyone but you

You never treat like you should
so what's the good of loving
as I do

Although you always laugh with love
nothing else would be
good enough for you

Impossible to live with you
but I know I could never live without you
for whatever you do

I never never never want to be in love
with anyone but you

You make me laugh
you make me cry
you make me live
you make me die for you

You make me sing
you make me sad
you make me glad
you make me mad for you

I love you hate you
love you hate you
but I want you till
the world stops turning

for whatever you do
I never never never want to be in love
with anyone but you

I love you hate you
love you hate you
but I want you till
the world stops turning

for whatever you do

I never never never want to be in love
with anyone but you

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Stafke & Monique

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Last weekend at the "Kempen Trophy" I ran into Monique Van de Velde which is a former Dutch skater that I hadn't seen for 10 years. I judged Monique many times during her career as an amateur skater and she was one of my favorite Dutch skaters. Also off the ice we had a good relationship, so seeing her back after all these years was great! I recently had seen her on television in the program "Dancing on Ice" which she and her partner (Belgian Celebrity) Stafke Coppens won. Stafke was also at the "Kempen Trophy" and is a big fan of Belgian skater Kevin Van der Perren! It was the first time I met Stafke but he's very friendly and down to earth. Here's one of Stafke's and Monique's best programs on "Dancing on Ice"!


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"I have a dream"

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Today is "Martin Luther King, Jr day"

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was a famous leader of the American civil rights movement, a political activist, and a Baptist minister. In 1964, King became the youngest man to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (for his work as a peacemaker, promoting nonviolence and equal treatment for different races). On April 4, 1968, Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1977, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Jimmy Carter. In 1986, Martin Luther King Day was established as a United States holiday, only the fourth Federal holiday to honor an individual (the other three being in honor of Jesus of Nazareth, George Washington, and Christopher Columbus). In 2004, King was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. He was known as a great public speaker. Dr. King often called for personal responsibility in fostering world peace. King's most influential and well-known public address is the "I Have A Dream" speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C..

See history:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZLvSnr6s50

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Kempen Trophy 2007

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I didn’t post for a few days now due to the fact that I had to judge the “Kempen Trophy” in Turnhout, Belgium. This is a small International competition. We had participants from Greece, Finland, Sweden, Holland, Italy, UK, USA and of course from Belgium. There were other times when this list also included Canada, Turkey, Germany, France, Norway, Japan, Spain, and many more! Anyway, next year will be their 15th Anniversary and maybe it will be something special… but for now I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate this years winners, especially the Belgian skaters; "Isabelle Pieman", "Ruben Blommaert" and "Jelle Butzen"!

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"I was swept away"

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1985 was a special year for me. it started with me doing nothing except modeling. Half way through the year I started to study for my diploma to become a driving school instructor. That was from September through to December that the lessons took place and afterwards the exams would follow... It was hard cause I was a drop out at school and hadn't read a book for almost 6 years and now it was back to learning. The beginning was tough but I made a commitment with myself that I was going to succeed. The only way to do that was by allowing myself nothing only studying, studying, studying... When I started it all looked ok but then suddenly I saw this ad in the papers saying that Diana Ross was coming to Belgium in October I wanted to be there! The last time she performed here I had to choose between Diana Ross and going to Florida (see an earlier post), so this time I wasn't gonna miss her performance! Of course my parents always told me to put your priorities ahead of pleasure and going to any kind of concert was just that... pleasure! It was a dilemma but if I studied a little harder I could skip one day and go see the concert. I asked a friend of mine (Chantal Populair) who also liked Diana a lot to join me. When the day of Diana's concert arrived I was very nervous! I was going to see my IDOL for the very first time in real life. I couldn't believe it. She began 15 minutes late and before I knew it it was over but she performed for about 2hours.I remember that the show began with her band playing a medley of all her greatest hits and than suddenly the lights turn on and there she came running up on stage to the music of "Swept away". From than on I was mesmerized and had tears in my eyes all the time! It was a very emotional experience for me! During "Reach out and touch" she came into the audience and passed us only a few feet away from where we were sitting. Still it was too far to get a closer look but she saw me and just waved! I thought I was going to die! LOL Anyway, it was a great concert and a wonderful experience for me. The moment she waved at me I promised myself that the next time she ever would perform again here in Belgium I would be sitting on the front row!

Here's a small clip I found from Diana's opening in Italy during the same tour!
Enjoy:

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Blast from the past # 9 (The Four Tops vs The Temptations)

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For todays "Blast from the past" I'll give you The Four Tops versus The Temptations. Both Super Groups recorded with Motown Records during the 60's and 70's and where at the top of the charts all the time! I'm sure you all remember songs like "Reach out I'll be there", "It's the same old song" and "I can't help myself" by The Four Tops. What about "I know, I'm losing you", "My girl" and "Get ready" by The Temptations? Here they are during their performance at The Motown 25th Anniversary Show: "MOTOWN; Yesterday, Today, Forever"

Enjoy!


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A not so "deadly" snake...

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The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is the largest venomous snake in Africa and the second largest venomous snake in the world, with an average length around 8 feet (2.5 m), but may grow to over 14 feet (4.5 m). It receives its name from the inky black coloration inside of its mouth; the actual color of the skin is varied: dull yellowish-green to a gun-metal grey. It is one of the fastest snakes in the world, capable of moving at 12 to 15 mph. Bites from Black Mambas to humans are rare, although they tend to become extremely aggressive when threatened. The "Black Mamba" I saw yesterday wasn't that aggresive at all! In fact it was rather tame... "Black Mamba" is the name of the rollercoaster in Phantasialand, Germany. It just opened in the summer of 2006 and is the latest ride added in Phantasialand. Until yesterday I didn't had the chance to visit the park and ride it myself. I had heard a lot of interesting stories on it, going from it's the best ride over to it's an out of this world experience... Well to me it was a nice coaster with a very beautiful theming!!! However the ride itself didn't impress me that much! It's built by B&M which normally deliver highly intence rides but this time they kept it fun for everybody! Click here if you want to see it.



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"Loch Ness Monster"

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I'm sure that everybody has heard about the "Loch Ness Monster". Since Steve Bloom recently took some shots from a swimming Elephant for his book "Elephant!" it seems there is finally some logical explanation for the so called "Lochness Monster" photo's from 1934. Throwing a bit of cold water onto the legend of Loch Ness, paleontologist and painter Neil Clark says the monster was perhaps a paddling pachyderm. Neil Clark noticed similarities in the hump-and-trunk silhouettes of swimming Indian elephants and the serpentine shapes of 1930s Nessie descriptions and photographs, such as the famous 1934 image shown as an inset above. Why would an elephant be swimming in a chilly Scottish lake? "The reason why we see elephants in Loch Ness is that circuses used to go along the road to Inverness and have a little rest at the side of the loch and allow the animals to go and have a little swim around," Clark told CBS News. And there's one more wrinkle in this elephantine mystery. In 1933 a circus promoter in the area—acting perhaps on inside information that the monster was really a big top beast—offered a rich reward for Nessie's capture, says Clark, a curator at the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery in Glasgow.


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"Ski-Doo"

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Unfortunately we don't get much snow here in Belgium cause otherwise I would have bought me a snowmobile already! It seems like a lot of fun to me "driving" around on those things. Anyway, a snowmobile (or snow scooter, often referred to by enthusiasts as a 'sled' and in the Canadian north and Alaska as a 'snowmachine', or as the genericized trademark of 'Ski-Doo') is a land vehicle propelled by one rubber track with ski(s) for steering. They are designed to be operated on snow and ice, and require no road or trail. Most snowmobiles are typically powered by two-stroke gasoline/petrol internal combustion engines. Four-stroke engines are becoming more and more popular in snowmobiles. Even though they are not designed for it, snowmobiles will skim on top of water if the speed is high enough, as demonstrated by the annual snowmobile river drag race in Kautokeino, Norway. Summertime occupations for snowmobile enthusiasts can also involve drag racing on grass or even asphalt strips. People that drive them are commonly known as snowmobilers. Snowmobiles will beat most stock or aftermarket cars in a 0-100 drag race. An average 2007 snowmobile goes 0-60mph in 4 seconds flat.

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"Models inc."

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"Models, Inc." was a short-lived primetime soap opera spin-off of the successful hit, "Melrose Place". The show aired from June 1994 to March 1995, and was produced by Aaron SpellingThe show revolved around a modeling agency, "Models Inc". in Los Angeles run by Hillary Michaels (Linda Gray), the mother of Amanda Woodard (Heather Locklear's character from Melrose Place). In spite of the presence of Gray (Dallas) and other names such as Emma Samms (Dynasty), as well as a devoted fan following, the show received poor ratings. Its combination of sexy, young female leads sashaying their way down the cat-walk, and a series of slightly outlandish storylines, made the show a stylish, bitchy, and wicked guilty pleasure. It also managed to move away from its Melrose Place roots, which creatively made the show unique. Despite all the ingredients for success, the show was a disappointing ratings failure and was cancelled after one season. I still liked the show. Being a model myself for a couple of years I always was searching for "things" that also happen in the "real world" of modeling... I found many!

See if you remeber it...


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"Are we good or are we..."

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Today the government has published the results of the driving schools and their results! These are based on the students that took lessons at the school and pass their exam with the driving school. They only took students into consideration who has passed the test from the first time. We in Kontich try to do our out most to keep everybody happy and to deliver good drivers. I knew that we were good but never expected a result like this! 86% of our students have passed this year from the first time which puts us in first place in the whole of Belgium! The first runner up has only 72% while the average at the examination center is 67%. We work with three at the office where I'm teaching. Me for 38 hours an other one for 20 hours and a third one only for 6 hours a week. So...... are we good or are we good? Of course we do have our own tactics to get our students well prepare for their big day! Just take a look!



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finally into the 21st Century!

Today January 2nd 2007 was a very interesting day at work. The driving school finally has discovered a computer! LOL Yeah, yeah, everything will be computerized so we finally made it to the 21st Century! Well we didn't quite arrive yet cause I still need a lot to learn of how this program works etc... I'm one of the more lucky colleagues so to speak cause I do have a computer at home where I work with so I have at least some idea how these things work! Anyway, today was the test to see if everything works properly and it didn't! lol There seem to be a bug somewhere that they haven't figured out yet so it just works for 50%. I don't complain cause that gives me the time to learn it step by step. My three colleagues were on the phone all the time asking questions; what do I have to do now, what's next, this computer doesn't do what I tell him to do, etc... It was fun! One colleague couldn't laugh with it...



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"2007"

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday Season and that you all are ready for a whole new year of serious, personal, informative and funny things here on my blog. Since it's a new year you will see that the lay out of my blog also has changed a little.

Just "double click" here and see what I mean!



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"HAPPY NEW YEAR! for black, white & any other color"

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