I need new furniture!

The living room in the renovated house needs new furniture. I asked my brother Rafael to make it, a couple of months ago. He promised to work on it, but it might take him a year or so to finish :-)
The final result should be something like the picture above, but then over a whole wall of 6 m width. No doubt it will be amazing, if it ever gets ready!

the Pink Pants Pool

As you know, we love swimming. When on holiday, we swim at least twice a day. And when we are home, we really enjoy a morning swim!

So it was with great pleasure that we learned that a new pool opened in our city Gent: zwembad Rozebroeken (translated: the pink pants pool, although it has nothing to do with pink pants hehehe). You see the picture on top. Their site is http://www.sr-rozebroeken.be/BENL/site/index.aspx .

It's a HUGE state-of-the-art pool, with all the newest thrills and technical gimmicks! We love that pool. Only problem is that it's a bit too far to cycle there in the early morning, so we have to drive by car.

We swim from 8:30 to 9:10 a.m. At 8:30, the pool is almost deserted, very quiet. Around 9 a.m., the schools start to roll in, and it's really a pleasure to see all the youngsters learning to swim, or if they can already swim, perfecting their swimming skills.

So, if you want to visit us in the early morning hours, you know where to find us!

The Guestroom

as you know, we have a guest-room in the newly renovated house next door. Very nice although not extremely big. But it's cozy enough.
Our guest come from all over the world, we love to have them. The first one came from Mainland China, the second and third from Indonesia. I wonder where no. 4 will come from!

We ask our guests also feedback: what can we do to improve the room (apart of making it bigger, which is impossible). We learned that guests like to have a private place to work: a small desk, for papers or computers or tablet. So this week we went to Ikea, and bought a new desk, not too big so that it doesn't take up too much space, an standing open closet to put clothes and other travel stuff in, and a hanging rack to store papers and work.

And really, the guest-room looks much nicer now!

a view on the Phils

View on the Phils

        

New York Times story on Philippines.....28 Aug 2012

MANILA — In the upscale business district of Manila, a midweek crowd spills out into the street. The New York-themed Borough restaurant is pulsating to the beat of a Bon Jovi  song, while young, hip Filipinos take shots of tequila from a passing tray and sing in  unison. "Whoa-oh, we're halfway there!" the crowd sings. "Whoaoh, livin' on a prayer!"
The revelers have reason to celebrate. Times are pretty good in the Philippines if you are
young, skilled and live in the city.
Young urban workers are helping to give the country its brightest prospects in decades, economists say.
With $70 billion in reserves and lower interest payments on its debt after recent credit rating upgrades, the Philippines pledged $1 billion to the International Monetary Fund to help shore up the struggling economies of Europe.
"This is the same rescue fund that saved the Philippines when our country was in deep financial trouble in the early '80s," said Representative Mel Senen Samiento, a  congressman from Western Samar.
The Philippines has certainly had a steady flow of positive economic news recently. On July 4, Standard & Poor's raised the country's debt rating to just below investment grade, the highest rating for the country since 2003 and equivalent to that of Indonesia.
The Philippines is the 44thlargest economy in the world today, according to HSBC  estimates.
But if current trends hold, it can leap to the No. 16 spot by 2050. The Philippine stock market, one of the best performers in the region, closed at a record high after the recent S.& P. rating upgrade, and the country's currency, the peso, reached a fouryear
high against the dollar at about the same time.
The gross domestic product of the Philippines grew 6.4 percent in the first quarter,  according to the country's central bank, outperforming all other growth rates in the region except China's.
Economists expect similarly strong growth in the second quarter.
"We have made a very bold forecast for the Philippines, but I think justifiably so," said Frederic Neumann, a senior economist at HSBC in Hong Kong.
A high population growth rate, long considered a hindrance to prosperity, is now often  seen as a driving force for economic growth. About 61 percent of the population in the Philippines is of working age, between 15 and 64.
That figure is expected to continue increasing, which is not the case for many of its Asian neighbors, whose populations are aging.
"There are a number of countries in Asia that will see their working-age populations  decline in the coming years," Mr. Neumann said. "The Philippines stands out as the  youngest population. As other countries see their labor costs go up, the Philippines will remain competitive due to the sheer abundance of workers joining the labor force."
Many of those workers are feeding the country's robust outsourcing industry. The Philippines, where English is widely spoken, surpassed India last year as the world's leading provider of customer service call centers.
According to the country's Board of Investments, offshore call centers employed 683,000
Filipinos in 2011 and generated about $11 billion in revenue, a 24 percent increase from the previous year. The government is seeking to expand the industry and has said it  hopes it will generate $25 billion in revenue by 2016.
The Philippines' growing prosperity has also been driven by the 9.5 million Filipinos — almost 10 percent of the population — who work outside the country and who sent home about $20 billion in 2011. That is up from $7.5 billion in 2003.
Trinh D. Nguyen, an economist with HSBC in Hong Kong, said the Philippines had  benefited from an increase in government efficiency and revenue collection, as well as aggressive actions to address corruption, like the impeachment of the chief justice of
the Supreme Court and the arrest of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on suspicion of accepting kickbacks and of misusing government lottery money.
"It is not only short-term growth that draws investors to the Philippines," Ms. Nguyen
said. "The fundamentals are there."
But there are also real weaknesses in the country. Recent flooding, which by some estimates submerged 50 percent of Manila, illustrates a shortage of modern infrastructure that makes the Philippines highly vulnerable to disasters.
"The Philippines is hit with several deadly and devastating natural disasters every year,"
Ms. Nguyen said.  But government officials have said that the recent flooding might  actually help economic growth, because reconstruction will require an increase in public
spending and the country will have to put into place programs to make it more resistant to the effects of natural disasters.
Another hurdle is the fact that the Philippines has traditionally underexploited its natural resources.
The government estimates that there are 21.5 billiontons of metal deposits in the country, including large deposits of nickel, iron, copper and gold.
But they have never been a significant driver of economic growth because extraction has
been mismanaged, Mr. Neumann said.
In the shorter term, there are concerns that the country's newfound prosperity has not sufficiently eradicated poverty.
Other countries in the region, most notably China and Japan, but also Thailand and Vietnam, have successfully developed export-driven manufacturing, bringing millions of people out of poverty and increasing the size of their middle classes. Manufacturing
typically draws workers away from agriculture, which pays less. But many of the large
foreign companies that financed such transitions to manufacturing in Asia have avoided the Philippines because of periods of political instability.
The service sector — including the young call center workers who were recently reveling in Manila — are helping drive an economic boom in the cities.
But that type of outsourcing still provides only about 1 percent of jobs in the country,  according to data from the Asian Development Bank. And the strong sector does not  create jobs accessible to farmers or to millions of other Filipinos in rural areas who seek
a way out of poverty.
"While the Philippines' business process outsourcing industry has grown impressively, it
still employs a very small portion of the country's work force," noted Rajat M. Nag, a managing director of the Asian Development Bank. "It needs to aggressively develop its manufacturing sector to create more jobs."
On Emerald Avenue in the Ortigas business district of Manila, where hundreds of call center workers pour out of skyscrapers to gossip and smoke, Mika Santos, 18, does not have much to say about the national economy.
But she is very happy with her own situation.
After completing a two-year information technology course and passing an exam in  English proficiency, she started handling customer service calls for a United States mobile phone company.
She earns a comparatively high salary for an entry-level job, and her employer offers incentive bonuses, free meals and shuttle service.
Had she been born a generation earlier, she would most likely have worked as a low-income farmer or gone overseas to find work. "My parents didn't have any opportunity like this," she said.

a view on china

here's a copy of a blogger (http://www.richardbatchelor.com/Blog/Blog05162012.htm) which gives quite a good insight in his experiences:

May 16 2012

Change in China - 10 Tips for Success

I recently worked on an engagement in China. The core activity was an analysis of the companies HR and organization to recommend changes. It was an enlightening opportunity for me. I experienced a totally different work ethic and learned so much about the way national identity informs cultural identity.

Here I offer my insight from the experience in the form of a set of recommendations for anyone who may be considering an assignment in China. 

I begin with my favourite topic of communications. Of course one of the communication challenges was the language. I didn't know any Chinese on arrival. I can't say I knew much on leaving. However I was fortunate to be working with someone who did. I did find that the younger Chinese were more capable in English and almost relished the opportunity to speak English with a native speaker. However, when you are taking time to interview a number of employees about the process and their feelings around their workplace you need to be able to use sometimes complex and irregular language.Recommendation 1: make sure you have someone to work with who can translate good business English.

 Reflecting on the content of the communications there are two areas to mention. Chinese folks do no want to say something bad about a colleague or someone in their group. Chinese also like to tell you the story of what happened with scene setting and surrounding information as added extras to the facts. This means that you have to allow for both of these situations. Recommendation 2: allow more time for interviews with employees.

 Talking about poor performance is nigh on impossible. Or should I say having a Chinese manager to address it is almost impossible. You have to consider alternate methods to express lack of achievement. This means you have to say the person “did as expected” or “still has areas to achieve” rather than didn't or failed to do something. I found a strong reluctance to measure performance with KPIs or the like as this would mean indicating failure. Much more was made of the relationship in the group. Recommendation 3: find a way to say failure without being negative in the choice of words.

When you have western expatriates or foreigners in a business they often gravitate towards the English speaking Chinese. Understandable I guess; but they really need to lose the halo effect with the English speakers. Recommendation 4: don't get confused between English language capability and working competence.

Money is often said to make the world go round and it certainly does in China. Challenging any preconceptions you may have China is a thriving market economy fast charging toward capitalist ideals. For the average worker this means they want to have a family, buy a house, a car and live well. To do this they need money. To get the money they work and work and work. Now I will cover a little more on this in the next paragraph but the core need to maximize income means the Chinese will work as many hours as you give them.Recommendation 5: forget work life balance.

Even though the Chinese worker is willing to work all those hours it doesn't mean it's right. However they will strongly push back if you try to cut them because they see that as a cut in income. There are Labour laws in China regarding hours of work. These state that the maximum working hours are 44 per week with up to 36 additional overtime hours in a month. Now if the worker wants to work more and you have them available they will take them. Be aware that they soon start living within the means of the higher wage and won't like any attempt to take it away. Recommendation 6: if you try to reduce working hours have an alternative way of making the money.

The assignment I was working on reflected a recent organizational structure change. Effectively a new management layer had been added in because of an expanding workforce. Now this is where Chinese and western ways align. Both like to work in silos and use management structures vertically rather than horizontally. However to get more lateral and horizontal interactions you need to play to the group mentality. Recommendation 7: to get people to work across silos create laterally connected groups e.g. Team leaders and middle managers.

I was working with a foreign company based in China. Their senior management were all expatriates. Now long term plans must surely be to integrate Chinese into the management team but in the meantime there has to be an appreciation that there are a significant number of individuals from outside the culture running the show. This means they are stressed living and working many miles from home and challenged to adapt to an alien way of life (to them of course).Recommendation 8: remember to consider the western workers who need the organization to support them too.

In China relationship and saving face are paramount to the workplace. However there is also a strong element of grade, seniority or superiority complex. By this I mean that only someone who is in a senior position to the person can tell them what to do. This means that any thoughts of empowerment culture or similarly peer working relationships will hit a stumbling block. But if you are able to differentiate roles then you have a chance of getting buy-in for this.Recommendation 9: clearly define roles within the team to express responsibilities and working expectations but be prepared to have push back on taking on any peer responsibilities.

My final comment relates to privacy, confidentiality and restricted communications. It is often necessary for discussions and communications to be kept within a number of people and not shared, or for employee information to be kept private. However, in China there are no secrets, or any attempt to keep things such as wages, management discussions or any work related activity private. This leads me to my final comment. Recommendation 10: until you have established a solid and trusting relationship, never discuss anything with an employee and expect it to stay secret, even if you ask for it to do so.

I perhaps should have another recommendation about working in China, but I think this applies to work in any new and different place. Enjoy it! For many people working in Change, they are more open to differences and are therefore more positive about the new and finding out about what can be done differently. Working abroad in a completely different country to normal is an ideal opportunity to test this and I can only speak from personal experience, but I would confirm that this is most definitely the case for me. So for anyone else out there, I recommend that you take any opportunity to work abroad and in so doing enjoy it for what it is and if it is China that you choose to go to, then I am sure these 10 tips will help you through the experience.

nudity and the purist religion

it is a widespread misconception that religions don't allow nudity. There are many examples of religious art where the naked human body is not only absolutely normal, but necessary for the expression of the religious feeling or thought.

Let me give you some examples.

When travelling in Bali, the Island of the Gods, you'll find many statues of this highly acclaimed god, who is not only totally nude, but who's extremities indicate an enhanced power. Here's a picture I took in an art gallery in Kuala Lumpur (indeed, a majority muslim country):

There's even a huge statue of this god in (if I'm not mistaken) Denpasar, in the middle of a busy crossroad. Lovely.

One might think that this is only possible in Bali, a very relaxed island. One would be mistaken: the religious expression of nudity is to be found everywhere, although not always in the most obvious places. In an Indian temple for example, male nudity was colorfully depicted:

Which brings me to Europe. Yesterday I was browsing through some art sites, and  they brought me back in time to the renaissance period in Europe. I rediscovered some forgotten masterpieces in religious art, depicting the male body in detail. See some examples for yourself: painted by Luca Signorelli:

Many other examples come in mind: the recent naked Christ in the Barcelona cathedral (Gaudi), the art of another famous renaissance artist: Michelangelo, and so on.

Do you know other forms of male nude religious art? Share them please, no matter what religion and no matter what time period. I'm looking forward to seeing more :-)
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the effect of rice

she worked the whole of her life in the paddy fields. Her body adapted to the form of the rice, bending in the wind. She became one with the field. When will she be harvested?

the good life

a hut above the sea - a net to sleep and rest in - how good life can be?

mysterious

when visiting a country, it remains mysterious to me :-)

the deadly lotus on Valentine!

on this Valentine day, I offer you a flower ... a deadly lotus: the insects that visited it, are trapped in the middle! Don't let Valentine trap you :-)

river fun in Ha Noi, Vietnam (2002)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbNsIfaZ5iI&feature=context&context=G2a1bab5FAAAAAPAAOAA

David Ben-Gurion

After the establishment of Israel, David Ben-Gurion was pessimistic about the possibility of peace.
"Why should the Arabs make peace?" he said.
"If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure, God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We came from Israel, it's true, but two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country."

Roger Cohen, "How Bad Are Things, Really?", International Herald Tribune Magazine, December 2, 2011, p. 18.

15% of the USAmericans don't pay taxes, because ...

... they live below the poverty line. They don't have money to make ends meet, let alone to be able to pay taxes. No money. Deadly poor. Not enough food. No good house. Dispair and disaster.

info according to http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/america-middle-class-shrinks-p-g-adopts-hourglass-145429009.html and http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/us/14census.html?_r=1

It's high time that the worldwide media start to show the reality of the impoverished US of A ...

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fashion !

"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every sex months", said Oscar Wilde (according to Homme+, winter/spring 2009, p. 54 :-)
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US dollar versus the Euro

Adam Lerrick, professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University, has led Argentina's $100 billion debt restructuring. He's an expert on the matter.

He, says it's only a matter of time before the world shifts away from the U.S. dollar.

"The world is trying to find an alternative to the dollar. The only alternative right now would be the euro, and as we've seen, the Europeans have their own fiscal crisis," he tells The Daily Ticker's Henry Blodget in the accompanying clip. "The day that stops, then we have a full-blown crisis, because we will literally not be able to pay our bills."

So the fate of the US dollar is in the hands now of Europe. As soon as Europe manages it's way out of the fiscal crisis, the dollar will be hit. There's no doubt that Europe is aiming to get out of the fiscal crisis. Question is how long it will take Europe to achieve it's goal. Anyway, in my opinion, the dollar is doomed. It's only a matter of time.
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am I afraid of work?

not at all, I can sit down beside it all day without fear at all.

:-)
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the big eat the small

Reading the FT on Monday July 25th, 2011:

"some experts accuse European governments of talking tough on credit ratings but actually trying to minimise the pain of their big debt burdens by transferring some of it to savers. Government bonds yields in the UK are already negative when adjusted for inflation, and those of the US and Germany are barely positive.
It is absolutely disgraceful. It is a way of impoverishing insurance companies and pension funds, says Geoffrey Wood of London's Cass Business School bluntly. It is premeditated theft by governments from their citizens. "

Well, I have no sympathy for the big money institutions, because they now receive the same treatment as what they were given their savers: over here, the banks are giving an intrest rate on deposits that is lower then the inflation too. Which means that the savers are loosing money yearly, by giving their money to the banks. We, the savers, were already punished by the financial crash of 2008, and year after year we get punished again, while the bank bonusses for the bank staff start swinging again. Disgraceful is the word.

Invasians in Prague

Prague, July 2011. Never seen so many Asian tourists outside of Asia as here in Prague. They even come here to marry (obviously those who can afford the trip + 2 photographers + make-up stylist for the pictures). Some come just as a couple, others come in group (yes yes, you do understand me correctly: a whole flock of brides, in full white outfit, jumping on the Prague marketsquare while being photographed. What was Bob Dylan singing again, in former millenium .... ah, right, "the times they are a-chaaaaaaangggggiiiiiiiing". So true.

The Perfect Moment

Hanoi, the noisy city. Traffic everywhere, loud and clear, deafening my ears.

We hide in a small sidestreet, one of the many.

We spot an old chinese temple, one of the many. Hundreds of years old, no doubt, one of the lucky that escaped destruction by the French.

Inside the temple, peace and quiet. Some dogs look at us with suspicious eyes, but the owner tells them that it's ok for us to enter, and they obey the voice of the master.

In the temple: nobody but a beautiful boy. He makes tea for us, while we stroll around and make pictures.

Then he offers us tea. No words. Only smiles and tea.

He's today's angel, showing us a piece of heaven. The perfect moment.
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closed door (except one)

strolling in the old town of HaNoi, discovering one of the many old temples and pagoda's. Looking behind the bars at the closed doors. No wait, one door is open. Guys are playing cards.

This ordinary picture depicts pretty much my idea of the country. We, the tourists, see things not as they are, we see them behind the bars of tourism. Even behind those bars, most of the doors are closed. If we see one door open, we see only a glimpse.

When talking to a guy in a park, he told me: nothing in this country is what you see. Nothing in this country is what you hear. Everything is different from what you see and hear.

I need to go to a gay bar or sauna, to meet real life, the life of the underbelly, the life of the uninhibited desire and lust, where guys can be themselves, and feel no restraints. Meanwhile, I enjoy my stroll in the virtual reality of daily life :-) .

Diamonds on the soles of your shoes

Today's surprise never-seen-before: 3 boys, working on old shoes. One boy removes the soles from the old shoes, another one keeps only those parts that are still useable and adds a new sole to the shoes. The third one, using those parts, makes "new" shoes from it. Incredible. And their workshop is the street. Not exactly a job that produces diamonds, but for them those old shoes are their living. And the speed in which they transform the old shoes into new footwear is astonishing. What would Jimmy Choo think of it? .

The Young Photographer

While we are in the BACC, there was a young boy who was fascinated by my camera. He probably never used a DSLR camera before, so I handed the camera over to him and invited him to start shooting. This is one of the pictures he made. Isn't it great?

Life is like that: see the window of opportunities and use every little opening. You have no idea what wonderful things happen if you do!
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BACC

Every time we visit BKK, we love to pop in at the BACC (Bangkok Arts and Culture Center), there's always something interesting going on.

In this visit, we met KAN, a beginning artist, very verbal and good in English, with lots of international contacts. His style is evolving but already very interesting. First he worked on the streets, since nowhere else to start. Now he's already working in the BACC. All on his own force.

He works thematic, which makes him commercially interesting, apart of the artistic aspect.

We talked about forming a partnership, where I would publish some of his work into a book with his resume. Sounds a great idea for him. He'll let me know if we can proceed this way.

Will this story have a further chapter? Come and see next week!

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possession

when taking pictures, I don't possess the persons I photograph. Normally, I ask their permission, even if it's only with a small gesture, I can feel if they agree that I picture them.

What surprises me is that guys often hang to each other when I want to take a photo of them; sometimes just casual, like the petrol boys, sometimes in a possessive way, like the clown and his boyfriend: the boyfriend clearly indicates that I can take the picture, but I cannot take the clown: the clown is his property :-)

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flower food

Bangkok has an open-air-food-fair, and the most remarquable offer there is this "royal food": flowers.

Look at the plate: I don't recognise any flower on it at all! The cook will fry the flowers for you and then you can enjoy their crispyness and flavour.

No wonder one will stay slim with such a delicious food :-)

Beware though ... some of the flowers are "midly laxative" !!!! Which will contribute on staying slim, of course!

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bisexual

While walking along Sukhumvit Road, I noticed this statue, impersonating both male and female. Anyone has any idea what this statue is and what it represents?

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circumstantial evidence

we were walking in the red light district, and I saw this guy working on the platform. His pants was almost totally below his buttocks, and the world could enjoy the view of his green monkey underpants!

Is his pants dropping a result of the location (red light district) or was it simply circumstantial evidence that his pants were too loose?

I never asked him :-)

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spying eyes

You think this is a lotus flower, turned into a seed?

Of course you are correct. At the same time, this picture is a mirror of Asian Society.

When you look closely to the seed, you see many eyes, looking in all directions. This is exactly what I feel when I'm in Asia. So many eyes looking at you, checking you, controlling you. Not in your face, but when you think that you're not observed. Very interesting.

Asians normally don't eyeball. Unless they feel that they are levelled, they won't look you into the eye. That's a major challenge for me as a (would-be-)photographer, to catch the persons when they think I'm not looking at them. Otherwise they would shy away.

This lotus seed represents all the spying eyes that are constantly on the watch here. Very funny picture :-)
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the incredible force of patience

These boys are hired to pick up stones, put them in a basket, and use them elsewhere. They have to clear a whole hilltop from little stones. They just started their work, and they patiently keep on going till the whole hilltop is stone-free. It will take them a long long long time. They don't care, they just keep going on.

I will burn this picture into my brain, to remind me of these boys, next time I start a work that seems endless. If the boys can do it, so can I.
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night over Samui

Do you have that too? That you have an almost perfect day, yet the end is less pleasant? It's an unwelcome feeling.

We came specially to Koh Samui to meet khun L., since she wasn't present at Hua Hin. We came specially early because today was her day off. We had a great time together today, during her day off. She wanted to have us around, and that we did. We planned together to have a chat lateron, at our room with her, and she agreed. We asked her what she wanted to drink during that chat, and she told us what she liked. We bought that. We prepared everthing for a pleasant evening.

And when the time came, she was probably too tired and she didn't show up. No reasons given.

It left me with an unpleasent feeling. Why am I doing this, spending time and money and energy in friendships, just to see that it's a waste? I think I have to rethink a lot, and that only the most valuable friends will remain ... hoping that indeed they will be valuable. Meanwhile, the unpleasant feeling prevails. Very sorry.

I hope next postings will be more pleasant! Sorry for this glitch.

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skinny dipping

one of the great things about waking up in the morning, is to jump out of the bed and into the pool ... no need to wear covers (swimwear), just be natural and enjoy the freedom!

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If It Doesn't Kill You, It Makes You Stronger

Thailand, Fisherman's Village. A huge pond with dirty water. It's a death trap, biologically speaking. The boys don't mind. If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger. Very true, the boys must have an incredible high level of resistance against diseases. And they jump of joy!
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protection against harm

When I was a young boy, my parents made me wear an amulet (a flat silver image of the Virgin Mary, on a silver chain around my neck. To protect me from harm (1).
That suddenly popped into my mind when I saw this young man sitting on a bench, wearing not 1, not 2 but not less then 3 amulets, to protect him from harm. It is a widespread custom here in Thailand, although I have the impression that the city-people don't show it so openly as this young man.
It's a moving thought, that wearing an amulet can indeed protect you, that the spiritual world is stronger then the material world. And it's a self-fulfilling prophecy: if indeed no harm comes to you, then you're convinced that the amulet keeps you on the good side; if however you suffer from a bad happening, you'll be convinced: 4 is better then 3!

----------------
(1) that was long before AIDS was known, and when most people hadn't heard of condoms, although those "modern" form of protection existed already centuries ago: Casanova used condoms already, made from animal intestins! And if you find that idea ridiculous, ask yourself where the violins get their strings from :-)
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Djok (Djuk)

In olden days, the little boys in thailand were their head shaven, except for one small dot of hair that could grow as long as possible: the Djok. When the boys reached puberty, the djok was shaven too, and then the boys could have normal hair.

What a nice way to indicate that, at that moment, they are getting hair on more then one part of their body :-)

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a boy and a piano

In the lounge, there's a white piano. A woman and 2 kids (the royal ones: a boy and a girl) come in the lounge, and the boy is magnetically drawn towards the white piano. No no, his mother says, come sit with us. No use. The boy cannot resist. He has no choice: he must open the piano and play.

I think that little boys should always listen to their mother, except when it comes to pianos :-)

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brahma against voodoo !!!

the danger of working abroad ......

Two Indonesian Transsexual Sex Slaves Rescued In Russia
November 13, 2010

Two Indonesian transsexuals held against their will by a prostitution syndicate were rescued by authorities in Russia, an embassy official said on Friday. 

Aji Surya, a counselor at the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow, said the victims had sought work in Russia as prostitutes, but later found themselves tied up and gagged in an apartment where they were forced to perform sex acts without payment.

He said the embassy had received a tip from a female caller, identified by authorities only as S, at dawn on Monday.

A security guard at the embassy picked up the call and heard a woman whisper that Indonesians were being held.

“They have not been allowed to leave this apartment and have been forced to render services to customers without pay. Please help,” the caller reportedly said.

After being notified, Hamid Awaluddin, the Indonesian ambassador, ordered his staff to contact the police.

A team of counselors were also dispatched on Monday morning to meet with officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which ordered police in Moscow to conduct an investigation.

Aji said Russian police launched a sting operation on Monday evening, with undercover officers posing as clients. This led to a raid on the apartment, where the two Indonesians were found.

A third Indonesian transsexual reportedly trapped by the prostitution ring, however, remained missing, according to Aji.

a boy's voice by a grownup man .......

Long live internet! Today I heard for the first time a recording of the singing of a castrato :-) I even didn't know there was a recording!
Happy to share this link with you, if you're interested in the matter:
http://www.archive.org/details/AlessandroMoreschi

Enjoy the music! click on the 1.5Mb link :-)
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BB (Brussels Bicycle)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARwZ3scXQ7U&feature=player_embedded

I stumbled upon this vid by pure luck! A Belgian choir performing Queen, quite nice!

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The PB floor!

 

Thanks Argentina, for naming a floor after me, in the lift! or does PB mean something else here hehe?

PB
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gardening

I love gardening. Sometimes, when I'm working in the office, and I don't see clear in a certain problem, I have a break and I do some gardening. It helps me to sort out my thinking, and after the gardening-break, I see things more clearly.

I often wondered why that is so, but I didn't have an answer.

Today, I read in "Men's Health", October 2010:

A new report, presented to the American Society of Microbiology, found contact with "mycobacteriusm vaccae", a common soil bacteria, helps reduce stress and increases levels of mood-regulating serotonin, which improves mental processes such as memory and problem solving. 

Well, at least now I know: thank you mister bacteria!

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