Four Wing Pairs

Hardcore update

2006-06-28T15:04:00.000+02:00

Check out the following sites: 1, 2 and 3; 4 and 5 for more info.

What's going on? Stickman from Fury of V started a new band this year called 'One Man Army'. Ok. Well, they've now called it quits and their site is already off Myspace. Stickman is already looking for a new project. Meanwhile, Boxcutter will release a new album at the end of this year.

News. Lots of it.

2006-06-28T14:34:00.000+02:00

Microsoft is in the process of making robots apparantly. Spooky.
I wonder if Koen ever heard of the political party 'The Pirate Party' in the US?
For Koen and others who are concerned about personal privacy: spooky part 2.
For Nicole: what high energy prices can do for the environment in business. An example. And there's criticism on Hawking's statement about going into space to save ourselves.
I luv geopolitics. Here's one about oil. Apparantly Saudi-Arabia is trying scare-tactics. How fashionable.
Soon there will be a TV channel for just about anyone.
Will Africa's economic development outpace its population growth rate? And what will be China's role?
Nicole and Tomas might be interested in the subject of epigenetics.
An interesting invention relating to the colorcode project is this.

Ghetto

2006-06-21T23:23:00.000+02:00

Today news came out on the national tv that a racial fight occured in a local ghetto in Flanders where native and alien residents lived apart for ages. There was talk of iron baseball bats and four injured. The natives appeared to have provoked the rumble. Windows are smashed, doorbells burnt. Etc. Are it really 5 buildings of social housing mayhem, that neigbourhood? I still doubt so.

Why do I mention this? I'm going to live there. Tomorrow I'll get my keys, I've waited two years for finally a place of my own. I've got no other choice for now, the rent in private housing is going to the roof overhere. I hope to soon relocate to a somewhat 'nicer' environment though, some 8 km (approx. 5 miles) further where I can stay in a home that's specially adapted for disabled people like me.

XFingers crossedX My doorbell was one of them...

I always knew 50 was cheap

2006-06-20T18:22:00.000+02:00

50 cent is living up to his name.
I had an interesting discussion with Nicole today about responsability problems in contempory society. The courts are busy apparantly.
My car broke down today. Aaargh!! So many problems now. Re-aaargh. (ok, I still have a full stomach=)

Various

2006-06-19T17:24:00.000+02:00

Atleast in Bolivia the leftwingers have some ideas...
And what is causing the continuous drop in crime in NY?
Nicole is busy formally starting up the business of the colorcode project.
I hate gossip... so none here.

Damn(ation A.D.) good!

2006-06-19T17:09:00.000+02:00

Show review HC gig at Hof Ter Loo in Antwerp (18/06/2006)

Me and Koen arrived when The Setup started and skipped it right away. But then... Damnation A.D. started: tight, sharp, honest combination of working-class bravour and college-kid technique. They had their own sound and style. Great class (although if they'd played longer it would've been be too much)! Lousy T-shirts though. I bought myself a sober one from Ringworm and skipped the next band. Ringworm itself was hard in a good way, but I took notice of the lazy comateus attitude of the audience. And I applaud that there are more women in the scene nowadays if only it wouldn't be a sign of HC losing its edge overhere. Most Precious Blood was great. Never saw a 'taliban' member and a woman on stage in a HC show but here they did. Darkest hour was cool but we left because we are such snobs. Nonetheless, best show all year (and we're only half way).

An Addendum

2006-06-17T18:21:00.000+02:00

Before I forget:

There's a new political party being started in Britain by members of Spiked. Very interesting. Let's hope this virus spreads across all Europe.
The show of Kickback in Antwerp on 07/05/2006 was fun, but unfortunately they didn't play any new material. But Cochez told me that they will release a split with Arkangel. We'll keep our fingers crossed. I taped the show and the band asked me to send me a copy. But I haven't done that yet. I soon will.
The show of Hatebreed in Antwerp also on 10/06/2006 was quite disappointing. It wasn't that inspiring. But I had a pleasant time with Cochez' friends. Cool people.

This big, old world is changing (part 4)

2006-06-17T17:41:00.000+02:00

These ones are for Nicole:

A.I. and A.A.I..
The benefits of thinking in neural networks. And of electricity.
I wonder what you all think of 'music intelligence'? Dangerous?
Nicole, I told you robots could be 'unhealthy'! Huh?

Expect more...

The world is changing (part 3)

2006-06-17T17:29:00.000+02:00

There seems to be enough oil in the US. I'm worried.
Ugly. More worries. Is a must-read.
For Koen: 'DMX in trouble again' and 'Hyphy', a new Hip Hop trend.
Oh yeah, Sony...
The numbers appear there's significant growing inequality in the US regarding income. Why are we so obsessed about that country?

World is changing (part 2)

2006-06-17T17:12:00.000+02:00

The follow-up:

Hollywood in trouble? And aren't we all journalists now? (These are for Koen and Tomas)
I'm convinced that market leverages can attribute to a healthier environment if the economy would be more 'wired' in a just way. But since the economy is embedded in daily-life society we could all help to give an incentive, a signal also by e.g. not letting your appliances be left in stand-by. If you care, that is.
Is Koen up-to-date with what's going on in Guantanamo? Only he knows, haha. It's a classical left-wing theme, isn't? The proclaimed hypocrisy of the US when it comes to democratic values and human rights in particular.
I end with a funny note.

World is changing

2006-06-17T16:46:00.000+02:00

So ok, I'm motivated again to do this. Here goes:

There's this issue about happiness. I agree with the article (Spiked doesn't) because I think we should dramatically reassess our priorities as a society. Towards what? Well, towards fine-tuning our relations quality-wise with our environment in general. I don't like the vain posturing of e.g. on-line relationships where people think they are really popular and socially healthy when sustaining all these chat-friends. I unlearned that behaviour, let me tell you.
If I may believe the news there's a brighter future for the economic development of Africa. There's alot to say about it. Benefits of capitalism?
More on the ambitions of the third world: Is there hope for pariahs in India? Can China maintain its insane balancing act towards prosperity on all fronts? Is Indonesia getting its act together? All can not be answered in these articles (definitly not!) but atleast you might get an oversight.

Short of time

2006-04-26T22:31:00.000+02:00

I'm too busy to be able to deliver regular updates anymore... I'll keep you posted though if there are any changes.

Breakdown

2006-04-23T14:57:00.000+02:00

No, not 'Breakdown' the band... I didn't get my post through yesterday.

I've only got one news item, and that's for Nicole, concerning the waste of stand-by power. Not to be underestimated.

Climate change and jobs

2006-04-22T20:24:00.000+02:00

Be warned to warn too much... we're talking about climate change here.
'7 trendy new jobs'.

Investing... time

2006-04-20T22:35:00.000+02:00

I'm currently very busy looking for capital for starting up my own business. I hope me and Nicole will succeed...

Some more philosophizing about Time

2006-04-19T21:58:00.000+02:00

Money = exchange of Time. Think about it. From the pop artist that sells his time to an audience, to automation in a factory that gains time, it all has to with a trade of time spent. You can rebel against this by increasing your own worth of time through e.g. meditation. To be at ease. Why would you rebel? To gain that 'true' worth in life, not following the rat race (completely). But ofcourse the economy has to work because of healthcare in the first place.

Smooth progress

2006-04-18T23:02:00.000+02:00

We've given the green light for the programming of the colorcode project. That's cool.

The mundane news:

Everyone makes mistakes. Also scientists. Big deal. But this time it's really embarrassing.
Women play more games than men apparantly. But simpler ones.
Misanthropy is on the rise. Tell me about it.

The chill-after

2006-04-17T23:22:00.000+02:00

I had plenty of time to stress this weekend (don't try to understand), but I'm back now and that's the most important thing now. And I returned wiser. I will be introduced to someone who can help to distribute our product.

I will try to write a follow-up piece about Time later on.

News update:

The Chinese government worries that its country's economy grows too fast and will tell Bill Gates all about it (not Bush).
Playing and learning belong together as they are finally realizing in Great-Britain. People are not robots. This one's for Nicole.
I also have something about killing malware in DVD Movies, that's for Koen and Tomas.

Ideas at Work

2006-04-17T22:27:00.000+02:00

Ideas at Work
Easter Week End: april 19 2006

I've been working an a project, about which I'll tell you in the next days. It has been exciting!! But today, this project is being programmed and I'm concentrating now on my favourite subject: Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Conscious Intelligence!! I'm also interested in Technology, ie. nanothechnology and I'm thanking ............................. who gave me abundant information about it. And of course in Stringtheory. I'm reading Brian Greene and Lisa Randall and Hey and Walters.... I've turned to science you know, not being a scientist, but a philosopher. But I'm enjoying the spectacular advances of science and technology, and I want to understand... So, I'm reading a lot.

Having taken an on-line course with Oxford Philosopy, a new (enrolled?) world was opening to me, and I did meet people (online) who did learn me a lot.
We had to present an essay at the end of the course, and I did choose for 'Will science ever be able to explain Consciousness?'
I intend to write about it..
I did find Ray Kurzweil on the internet, and I'm reading now "The Age of Spiritual Machines (1999) in order to understand his latest book "The Singularity is Near "(2005).
You see. Maybe this will be interesting to you too. But from time to time, I'll tell you about things happening in my personal life... and in our world...

Holiday

2006-04-15T11:42:00.000+02:00

I'm off for the weekend so expect an update monday evening. Happy Easter!

Expertease

2006-04-14T22:16:00.000+02:00

Some criticism on the contemporary environmentalist discours... Some funny stuff happened to me today, I won't tell you though what it was. And some serious matter also, concerning the colourcoded project. I talked with an expert who can help me with consumer group analysis in his field of the final product. Hurah!!

Productive day

2006-04-13T23:46:00.000+02:00

The colorcode project is getting coded and the meeting of the local political party I'm in was very relevant (what you get to hear from political practices, man... but yeah people are cynical enough, so I don't bother telling them). So I'm happy and very tired. And sorry but no sorry if this message is not so relevant to you. See you next time.

Lean and mean

2006-04-12T20:49:00.000+02:00

Some nice hiphop brought to us by Koen here.
Playstation 3 still has a long road ahead apparantly.

I've been on a pretty mean mood today... It doesn't take me much to be like that.

D-11

2006-04-11T21:20:00.000+02:00

Oil going steady, close to hit $70. Good thing, makes the world economy more robust.
It appears according to a survey that puter games are not so popular with kids anymore... Who'd have thought that?
Proof, member of the rapcrew D-12, has been terminated. Victim of his succes probably. The selling out of his heritage can begin...
On a lighter note, it seems there's still hope for a HC band we all know has 'problems'.

A new list of gigs...

2006-04-10T15:00:00.000+02:00

FRIDAY 14 APRIL 2006

Slumlords (former members next step up)

[Lippelo]

TUESDAY 18 APRIL 2006

Death before dishonor

Odk crew

[7 euro - Venue: Vortnvis, Ieper]

SATURDAY 29 APRIL 2006

All out war

Path of resistance

Bad religion

Bold

Sick of it all

[groezrock - Meerhout]

SATURDAY 6 MAY 2006

Whatever it takes

First alliance

[fluks - baasrode (Dendermonde)]

Entertainment

2006-04-09T15:23:00.000+02:00

I've got screenshots from God of War 2 on Playstation 2 here for Koen.

And there's this article with the author complaining about the lack of sex in movies at the moment. Pretty funny.

Home equity

2006-04-08T21:37:00.000+02:00

One thing that heavily annoys me now in a practical sense is the housing market. I have to overstretch to find a decent housing nowadays, something that I can afford. Rent? 350 Euros a month and onwards where I come from. I have to count on social programs to give me an affordable place to stay and that annoys me. It's not healthy to be so dependent on the state, although it's ofcourse a social responsability to make sure there are as little homeless people in society as can be.

It's just that those damn couples who both work for a living have so much income that they are able to loan vast amounts, coupled with low interest rates, booming stock and a long loan term there was a huge inflation on home equity prices. I wonder what's the price pro acre now. All these rewards on property sicken me. And especially the young are the, well, victims of this situation. And what about a downturn of the economy? What if alot of people lose their jobs due to a transformation of the economy or another reason? What if people divorce? Etc. There's alot to say about this.

But what aggravates me the most is the inflexible stagnation of the political structure of the society that is fundamentally unable to handle situations like this.

Art

2006-04-08T18:12:00.000+02:00

I've got some sketches for you from yours truly:

Tell me what you think. I follow a course in the local art academy and I think it's great fun.

MMOSG's & HIV

2006-04-08T13:25:00.000+02:00

Witness the rise of what you could call MMOSG's (Massive multiplayer online sexual games). *sigh*

"We've got the cowboy room, the make-your-own-pr0n room ... it doesn't just have to be 'Your place or mine?"'

Scientists are still working further on therapies against HIV.

That's all, folks.

About gossip

2006-04-07T22:00:00.000+02:00

I hate that. I was talking today to an intern of our social assistant. She seemed to me as very focussed, friendly, a bit alternative-nerdy (and it appeared I was right!). So what happened, I went to the 'coffee room' at 3.30pm to have an official break and there broke(!) out a major diss of that person. If you think that might happen once in a while, no it does all the time. I already had to defend a collegue of mine or make a comment that I claimed to be responsible for the mistake of another. Well I kind of did, but her mistake was brought out of proportion and it would backfire on me so I had to step in. These badsayers quickly shut up but they won't stop obviously. Now I know that that one person has some serious problems with her family and she's ok at her work as for as I know. Those jealous not-so-smart b**************** (fill in what you like) screw it up for everybody. I really hate that. And to top it off, out came an 'scientific' study proclaiming the 'benefits' of gossip. Like every evil has a purpose because it exists. My God. Help.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a saint. But atleast I take care of my social hygiëne. Yet ofcourse that's not as visible as cutting your nails every week or putting on an aftershave everyday *sigh*.

Some thoughts...

2006-04-07T21:44:00.000+02:00

I've got some pretty glauque poetry for you:

Full Circle

Sometimes I want to skip the day
Because of the darkness
I skip people and vegetables
Because they are more similar than you might think
Yet when I socialize
There's always a smile on the other side
The corrosion, corruption, contempt for life
Cuts and bleeds
Just as the weed of time
Wastes my day... again
Back to square one

I believe the real treasure of a person is his maturity if he's able to remain full of childlike wonder and amazement. Real maturity comes not through age but through tests... ok, now give me 5 cent for these mumblings *laughs*. I used to think fighting yourself was the key to wisdom, but it's still fighting and thus doesn't resolve anything. Enjoy the holidays, people. Have a nice weekend.

I'll let G.W.B. have this one

2006-04-07T19:49:00.000+02:00

Here goes. But take notice, of the next quote:

"I think the Fed wants the unemployment rate to stop going down pretty much immediately, and if it doesn't the Fed will keep tightening," said economist Jim O'Sullivan of UBS Securities in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Bizarre and pervers. I always knew the stock exhange reacted bad to low unemployment, but if even the Fed acts up, jeezes. These are people with real lifes, no job and little social security and now an official institution says: "we don't give you a chance". Check out the article why they think that, but this to me is an important failure of the current economic organisation in most parts of the world. Work, although it does not complete you, like I said, is essential for your wellbeing through self-worth. If you strip people of that, you turn them violent (in a broad sense). I know some people don't want a job at all. Ok. But not giving them a fair chance?! All because of the welfare of the majority, supposedly. Shortsighted, stupid, illegitimate as a system, inhumane as a belief.

Here's some criticism on the green belief, on the other hand. I have to keep ideologies in balance here (I'm an overall environmentalist myself, it's in the family).

I stumbled upon this article on G.W.B. earlier on because of an entry of Koen. I don't know about the democrats... they don't really have a profound vision, to say the least, now do they?

A small update

2006-04-06T19:37:00.000+02:00

There's a new activity by bloggers coming up: Distributed Journalism. It's an interesting evolution and we at Four Wing Pairs would like to be a part of that citizen journalism. Any relevant information/news from you, the reader is welcome.

And I have an article for Katia about the shift of preferences of women towards men. It seems that they don't find a man being wealthy so important anymore. That could be true, as I hear my sister talking continuously about how looks are sooo important. Guess that's progress, folks.

Ray Kurzweil

2006-04-05T22:03:00.000+02:00

RAY KURZWEIL

Is one of the world’s leading inventors, thinkers, and futurists, whith a twenty-year track record of accurate predictions. He is one of “sixteen revolutionaries who made America,” along with other inventors of the past two centuries.
His most recent book is lying in front of me: “The Singularity is Near”. And if you allow me to, I’ll tell you about humanity standing on the verge of the most transforming and thrilling period in its history. Kurzweil is talking about the role of technology in our future.
In his classic “The Age of Spiritual Machines” (also lying in front of me), he presented the daring argument that with the ever-accelerating rate of technological change, computers would rival the full range of human intelligence at its best.
Now, in “The Singularity is near”, he examines the next step in this evolutionary process: the union of human and machine, in which the knowledge and skills embedded in our brains will be combined with the vastly greater capacity, speed and knowledge-sharing ability of our own creations. (pc’s. N)

And in order to persuade Pieter of the importance of Kurzweil’s ideas, I want to mention that Kurzweil says: “We contradict ourselves. A variety of ideas and approaches, including conflicting ones, {theses-antitheses (N)}, leads to superior outcomes. Our brains are quite capable of holding contradictory views.” (p.152 in The Singularity).

And now the reason why I intend to write about Kurzweil’s ideas: because Chapter One of his “The Age of Spiritual Machines” is dedicated to “The Law of Time and Chaos.”
Pieter did mention his concern about ‘loosing Time’ in one of his last postings.
I want to write first of all about ‘Time’ and ‘Chaos’. Chaos being the axiom of Pieter’s Metaphysics.

About Bush

2006-04-05T19:39:00.000+02:00

I've been sarcastic about the US president earlier on because I severely dislike his foreign policy (and interior for that matter). He has an extremely violent approach to policy-making, with phrases as pre-emptive strike. He apparantly doesn't realize that by this action-reaction policy he makes matters far worse. This does not mean I like the other extreme, like the government of Iran for example. I really don't. I also have nothing against the American people, in fact I'm starting to like them alot.

A controlling force like that tremendous power of the US should be used wisely and justifiably because only then it will be used most effectively and just. Otherwise you'll end up in guerrilla warfare sooner or later and you'll lose the public opinion.

It is also interesting to see that the governor of New York, mr. Pataki, is able to push through a more future proof policy with the promotion of biofuel, lanes for hybrids, responsible fiscal policy and so on (although I would like to hear from some of mr. Pataki's criticasters what they have to say). Why on earth has Bu... nevermind. Is it the South? I don't think so, since some of them are making money now with windfarms.

The authoritarian policies of Bush, Blair and their disciples will never work in the long run. You just cannot control the world this way. Truth comes out sooner or later and lies perish. Just because they are that, lies.

Gig with Madball

2006-04-05T19:30:00.000+02:00

SUNDAY 14 MAY, 2006

MADBALL

TERROR

CHIMAIRA

UNEARTH

ALL THAT REMAINS

MANNTIS

[Venue: AB - Brussels - Doors: 16h00 - 25 Euros - Presale 22 Euros]

Good news for you and bad news for Bush

2006-04-05T09:02:00.000+02:00

Poor bastard. As if it wasn't enough that his ratings went to record lows, loses influence in a prosperous Latin America and that his own people, the Republicans, don't want to be seen with him, and that his wife is far more popular than him (a disgrace!), comes this good news: Pick your agenda's and set a date for a holiday in the US, because it's going to be cheap! And then this. Oh well, if that may be a comfort for George, don't believe everything you read. Haha.

For Tomas, I have some worrying trends concerning spyware issues, here and action taken here. Use a spyware-killer people!

Finally some news for animal lovers. This one's for Cochez.

Some afterthought on morality

2006-04-04T21:37:00.000+02:00

Let’s elaborate somewhat further on the concept of morality… To me, on the ‘hardware’ side of morality, meaning the deep fundamental reasons behind it existence besides it being necessary for self-preservation, it’s all about gaining time. Let me explain.

Let’s suppose the hypothetical situation I experienced today where I was driving in my car in the local city where a lady and her children made gestures they wanted to cross the street. I could have let them cross, but I thought: “Hey, what the heck, they can cross after me, there’s no car behind”. It was a mistake to think that because I could have foreseen I would end up in a small traffic jam a little bit further along the road. Just for that 10 seconds, these pedestrians waited for nothing. 10 seconds, you might say, who cares? That’s 10 seconds in which you can miss a buss, for example, 10 seconds which give you more time to watch for a car that passes because you are less in a hurry, etc. Extrapolate that, and you will understand what I mean by ‘morals help by gaining time’.

Ofcourse, in daily life, we don’t think so deeply about it, and indeed we shouldn’t, because we would lose time in the process. Yet, there’s always time and it’s most important to do your work competently (so other people can gain time, again). That’s what I’ve learned. The more time is gained, the more problems of the present can be solved by solutions of the present, meaning happiness, wellbeing, welfare.

News update

2006-04-04T20:03:00.000+02:00

The new rising economies are on the move apparantly, China is interfering with Brazil and India is courting the Gulf. On a global scale, there are deep changes going on. There's alot of positive news of these new rising stars, yet, I worry about India's ecological state of affairs.

They are still not getting it, now do they, in the Anglosaxon world? Check this out. Crazy.

And on a lighter note, here are some opinions concerning punk. They're celebrating 30 years since the Sex Pistols first performed in London.

A piece about morals

2006-04-04T13:30:00.000+02:00

I would like to ask my readers to promote this blog, I'm putting enough time and effort in it to earn some support. I'm glad Nicole made her first contribution. We'll also look to expand this effort even further, linking to a back-up site we started years back where we could put some articles on.

Morals

Do we really have a free will? To a degree, we certainly have. But the evil we all practice everyday, even against our will, proves that there are limits. It seems that there is a boundary, like a magnetic field, which influences our thoughts and decisions anywhere anytime. A struggle between Good (justice) and Evil (violence). Thankfully there exists a tool to handle this situation with more or less success: morals. It gives a level of control to your everyday life. The problem is that you do not really live by an insular spiritual struggle by yourself, there's also your environment that's corrupted. Animals eat other living things, you have parasites, people bribe, an injust organisation of society, etc. This means you have an interaction with which you basically cannot excert control over.

There are a couple of practical solutions to this problem:
- Show modesty, modesty in goodness. Since both moral forces (Good and Evil) are in balance with humanity as a whole, with a slight edge for Good or we wouldn't be alive anymore, modesty in goodness can calm down the dark side of you. Ofcourse there are people like my friend Koen who appreciate the pleasures of the dark side (Evil = having pleasure in hurting others or yourself), yet he himself will succumb to aspects of the 'bright' side that he will not like due to immodesty.
- Show love. Love is difficult to grasp, beyond reason if you want to grasp it completely. Otherwise it would be calculative, thus fake. It has to do with concern, giving, caring, involvement. We all do it naturally. Yet if you want to give it a chance you have to open up and let it blossom. My conviction in this is of Buddhist nature, you get what you give. This means that the consciousness of someone and his environment are connected. You change? Your environment will change with you. The more 'real' you are, the more impact you have. Each person has it own pleasures though so that all are equal in their nature. Delving into this subject further would take me to far for now.
- Question your intention on which you make your decisions. E.g. a similair action, sexual abstination, can have both a good or evil motivation behind it. You can choose to protect yourself for example if you made it clear for yourself you are not ready yet, or you can deny sexual pleasure to your partner. Both have the same end result and thus pain for the partner. Why does the partner suffer? You might have been good in one instance but have not shown love by compromising on your high ground for example. So when people claim that there is not such thing as 'The' Good or 'The' Evil, tell them there is, because there was always an intent behind someone's decisions. It's not so much about the result, but the intent.
- Have faith that this reality 'works' in the end, that ultimately there will be a positive change as long as people believe in their own potential.

Let this sit in for a moment and give some response please.

Latin America on the rise...

2006-04-03T21:23:00.000+02:00

I've got an interesting article for Koen about Bush getting a hard time in his own backyard.

On the edge...

2006-04-03T18:17:00.000+02:00

On the edge is a popular phrase in hardcore. That's what my contribution is all about today. And during my research I've found a nice site for Nicole.

The Cutting Edge of Society

What exactly is the 'Cutting Edge of Society'? It is it fluent, flexible? Yes. Is it worth to look at? Yes, because the cutting edge always means new information, new input into our reality. And information is never (really) lost, as the laws of physics tell us. But where do you have to look at? Well, artists are always at the cutting edge of society (1). But that can differ. I've come to write this article because of a conversation I had earlier with my friends Koen and Cochez about the former edginess of hardcore and how they lost it. The people that play in bands like Irate or Hatebreed are artists. I think nobody will doubt that anymore. Yet the latter is now far more edgier than the former and thus more relevant.

How do you measure that edge? Well, artists who have a clear focus, look for limits of conciousness and do not avoid them, are gifted and/or are young are generally on the very cutting edge of society. They can experiment with new technologies or new ideas. You have to listen to the new cd of Irate or look at the video 'I Will Be Heard' from Hatebreed (2) to see the difference between respectively the not-so-edge and the real thing. Ofcourse these criteria are very subjective until scientific methods of evaluation are found.

Taking hardcore as an example, how can somebody or some group of people lose the 'edge' and hopefully regain it? It ultimately comes down to selfbetrayal. In hardcore, this meant an extreme way of life, a way of thinking that was not sustainable. A scene where there is an overall negative atmosphere doesn't encourage renewal. So now that the smoke cleared up, it is safe to say that hardcore has to reinvent itself to regain its natural leadership in society. Realness, alternative innovative thinking, DIY, Straight Edge are concepts that are built to last and that express themselves into e.g. its 'violent dancing' or the fanzines. Yet, like I said, that will not be enough. And the current lack of inspiration and mood of fatalism are not going to help. Not to mention sniffin' coke for some. And it's not that there's not enough challenges ahead. New Labour selling out the UK, France itching, a fascistioïde Flanders, all because of a lack of a real alternative. If you pretend to be cutting edge as a group, you have to start by yourself. So here are my practical proposals:

- Activism to change the voting system of contempory democracy by infiltrating political parties.
- Musical renewal by mixing a software drum with hard guitars and vocals.
- Not letting self-confindence interfere with questioning everything.
- Focus on free time, not work, if possible. Work gives you an overtly false sentiment of being 'OK'. You're not. Consider the context in which you work for starters.
- Consume consciously. Research the companies you would like to buy from and spread the word. e.g. A hardcore buying guide would be nice.
- Etc.

So cutting edge comes down to practice, practice, practice. You often see the same people for a whole decade on the edge like, technologically speaking, the mtv vj who became an expert in podcasting.

But all is not so positive about 'cutting edge'. You have to leave room for processing: tree steps forward, two steps back. That's why e.g. there's now a conservative reaction around vague terms as 'decency' in the West. Yet if you have faith there's always a positive outcome in the long term of new information, a premise of science, the cutting edge will never lose it charm although it might not be recognized as such in the beginning (remember punk anyone?).

Introduction

2006-04-03T15:52:00.000+02:00

I'm ready to join Pieter's Four Wing Pairs, because we do know each other rather well, and we have been talking for some years about our philosophical, political, economical and general ideas about what's going on in today's societies: Western, Eastern, Asian, African etc. We don't always agree with each other's opinions, because we are different.
Pieter believes in 'his' God, I am an atheist nr 1. This means that I don't believe in the Christian God who is defined as allmighty, allgood and allknowing. The continuing suffering in this world contradicts it all. I don't believe in any monotheïstic religion. Buddhism is attracting me, because they have no 'God'. But they do believe in a 'power' beyond our imagination. And so do I. For the moment, to be honest.
I'm philosophical minded, but I'm a materialist, which means I don't appreciate 'supernatural' things. I do stick to science and maths. If anyone will be able to explain our universe, it will be a, or several, scientist(s). Mathematics play a generally underestimated role. Maths means equations. And Physics do
need equations to express itself, to summarize its findings and to enable further experiments in order to prove its theses.

Well, I think all knowledge about the world and the universe is coming from science. Don't tell me about some 'original sin' and Eva, the female monster who seduced Adam. Bullshit!! Some men still think women are basically evil and stupid, because of the Bible. Which is supposed to tell us the truth about the 'creation' of the world and of manhood. Inspiring us with fear and horror about our behaviour and the 'punishment' waiting for us at The Day Of Ordeal!!

Bibles, Gospels and Korans were written long before science was born and long after Mozes and Jesus Christ did die.
The Prophet Mohammed is not even a God! They now tell us about Allah! And who is Allah?? A monotheïstic God!
Who promises lots of virgins to men who are defending him.
And to the women defending him? I don't know. Lots of unused dicks??

I think you get to know me by now.
About Politics: I do agree to some extend with Pieter: we need a new voting system: bottom-up, to give all of us the possibility to participate in government and decision-making. Not only in Belgium, our country, but all over the world. It's a dream, I know, but someone has to realise this dream. Other dreams have been realised. Why should not Pieter?

Economics is a difficult subject. Economics should prosper, because they give the means to 'earn money'. (and without money nothing can be changed...). But Economics involves people who feel exploited and who 'burn down' at a certain age, mostly around 50. That means now: half of their life-time.
Who will pay for the next 50 years? Their children?? Their grand-children?? I really don't know. I've a 'liberal' mind, in the sense of philosophically liberal. I mean, referring to Bertrand Russell, the interaction between ideas and practical life gives rise to the question "what is the cause and what are the consequences" which is as meaningless as that about the chicken and the egg.
If you want me to write about philosophical liberalism, you'll have to ask me. But I'll explain. LOCKE was the first influential philosopher about Liberalism, but not the most profound one.

What need I say more about myself? I'm a female, so I'm quite susceptible to female questions. I'm not an outspoken 'feminist'. Not at all. Referring all the time to 'men' being the cause of their so called 'unhappiness'. No! Women have to think for themselves and finding solutions themselves to solve household problems. Before they're get married, they have to speak to their (future) husband about household questions and to agree both on them. If they want a 'career', they should think twice about making children. They should make 'calculations' (maths!!) and stick to the conclusions of their calculations. And incorporate the possibility of a divorce.
I'm glad government nowadays no longer prefers to 'give' the children to the mother. Fathers do have the right and the possibilities to take care of their offspring. It all depends on circumstances. But the fact that children 'grow' in the belly of their mother, can't change the fact that a child is a balanced genetic mixture of father and mother. Mothers have no more rights than fathers!

OK, last but not least: I'm very interested in sex. Men and women are attracted to each other by intellect and by sex.
Women should be 'attractive', which means 'sexy'. Men who don't care for intellect - and there are a lot of them - look at a woman's body: their legs, their butt, their tits, their face.
Men get excited by this body and they want to 'make love'.
Instantly. They get an erection and they want to loose their sperm. It's all natural. The continuity of mankind is depending on this.
Women on the contrary have to think it over. They feel attracted to a man, but they are not that spontaneous, most of the time. Because they inherited Darwinian evolution sentiments: to look for a father capable of taking care of the child who may result of the copulation.
Of course, this is obviously an old-fashioned reaction. Nowadays, we can prevent impregnation in many ways. And I think women are still afraid of 'making love' to someone they're attracted to, because of the risk of impregnation, because of the Darwinian 'feeling', and because of being ridiculous in the eyes of other females (friends? who knows?).
That's why I want women to think for themselves, to make their own decisions and to follow their heart, their desires; to perform their dreams. To enjoy life. Every minute of it.
Good heavens, why do we complain all the time??
Make love! and if you enjoyed it, do love the person you made love to. Do engage in a relationship you never know how and when it will end. And I think, having seen the world, most of these relationships do end!! Don't be afraid. After all, I do agree with Pieter: "Only Love can save the World". But Pieter's definition of Love is far more extended than my thoughts about sex and love.

Funny saturday evening

2006-04-02T11:34:00.000+02:00

I don't have any particular news, except this one:

Show report Irate

Wel, it actually was a no-show. The show schedule got out of hand, even to hc standards and we decided not to hand over a full 12 Euros for bands who're gonna play after midnight. All was not lost, however. BOSS had a ball chalking up memories, recalling who's who now (the bands). Too much like a bunch of ol' geezers to me, but anyways....

An example of the kind of lyrics I usually write

2006-03-31T10:45:00.000+02:00

This a clean one though, I'm in a mood of intense tranquility now:

12 beaufort
I'm in the eye of a perfect storm
But it seems I walk the right path
To make sure I'm not torn
Or had

All my friends are out there in the winds
They suffer, are restless and insecure
About what the weather hints
The clouds spell doom
The rain stings
How can I help
How can I know what brings

I follow its tracks
Or does it follow me?
I know the face of this hurricane
I know the might of the arcane
Yet nobody believes me
I try to comfort, soothe
Take not too much of their time
Yet work clouds their vision

I meditate in the Calm
As past relationships or experiences
Carved doubt in their hearts
A cut for every trust misplaced
The winds carry debris
And all I see is watching it fall
On them

But they wouldn't be my peers
If they wouldn't stand tall
Despite all
They smile, show confidence
And forgive my sentimentality

They don't see me cry

Relax, chilll,...

2006-03-30T21:19:00.000+02:00

Nothing new that's worthwile these last couple of days.

Yet, I've got some very interesting analytical articles of Spiked again as usual: one for Katia about contempory relationships, one for Nicole about the link between global warming and moralism and one about the protests in Paris.

The project I'm running with Nicole about emotions is running smoothly, we have somebody extra helping out now. We hope to be able to get some programming done soon.

I'm chilling out now on the games Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (brilliant rpg = role playing game) and Act of War: High Treason (rts = real time strategy) and on the oldies Deformity, E-Town Concrete and ACME (hardcore music).

What music are YOU listening to now? Let me know and I'll publish the playlists, always interesting.

And some more...

2006-03-28T12:11:00.000+02:00

For Nicole, there's an article about the South-African economy which surprised me and about 'neuron-to-computer communication'. I also have something particularly interesting about the current development in e-books which Tomas would also like. When Nicole will write her masterpiece she'd might want to consider applying these new technologies. Very interesting, like I said.

For non-familiar readers, here's a run-down of my friends and their interests so it can help you orientate through the content. Smart, isn't it? I need a convenient container, a name, for this writing technique. Anyone has a idea?

In alphabetical order:

Julien: music, art.
Katia: gender issues, psychology.
Koen: politics, music, art in general, philosophy, knowledge in general.
Nicole: science, technology, philosophy, politics, morality.
Pieter: Hardcore, politics, philosophy, TV.
Tomas: music, technology.
Rudy: music, morality, spirituality, philosophy.

If I need to correct something, let me know.

Some links to articles you'll like

2006-03-27T13:14:00.000+02:00

There's one for everybody:

Koen, about Syriana, the movie and the Revolution, the new console from Nintendo (warning, this article is in Dutch).
Cochez, about 4x4's.
Nicole, about a new fusion reactor in China.
I'll also keep looking for articles of interest for Tomas and the others in the future. I hope you'll read them!

Women, criticism and trust

2006-03-26T19:16:00.000+02:00

The previous text about politics was sheer experimental, I'll try to continue on the path I've set. Watch this place.

But firstly I want to talk about gender issues... Alot of rubbish has been talked about it in human history and frankly I don't want to make matters even worse. That's why I say this: don't try to understand. That would be a mistake. Yes, I see functional differences: women are exceptionally good at criticizing others, expecially men. But they will never have 'it'. The full truth. Let me explain, back in the second half of last century alot of social-economic criticism of free-market mechanisms came from the marxist angle. Some in the West even glorified communism. At that time it might have SEEMED plausible to alot of people, but afterwards supporting this theory proved to be a not so glorious mistake on several fronts. The same goes with criticism in general and critique from women in particular. At first, when you hear them talking, atleast I think: "Why haven't I thought of that?" Know what I mean? But when you sit down and let it rest for awhile and reflect afterwards most of the time you begin to consider their remarks were not quite 'it'. Close, but not the truth. As a man, you also have to rely on your inspiration and not being carried away most of the time by the opinions of other people or one silly trend. You might tell me now: "Dude, people all over the world already know that". Yes, absolutely. But do they practice it?

This criticism of overtly serfhood also applies to the media and other wordly authorities: an important part of the people in general in the West have to learn to trust sources of information on a conditional basis. Not all, you also have to learn to specialize as a human being. So as a leader, a man (or a woman sometimes - don't call me sexist, look around you if you don't believe me) has to synthesize the information and the advice he gets around him. Trustworthiness must be the criteria. Women tend to be excellent companions in this enterprise. If I'm not mistaken their ambition lies in relationships, not in a career or extensive self-expression? Fine, they also tend to organize their lives in a 'lower', more practical level. Don't they analyze aswell? Absolutely. But on a different basis. They also need control though. However the more responsibility you take on yourself towards other people like your family, the more criticism you can expect. Since women relieve men from occupying the lower level tasks, men are able to develop their systematic thinking. Yet despite this reasoning of the heterosexual male he can never overthrow the criticism of his partner in life. It's a law of these and anti-these coming to synthese. It's my ever recurring theme.

So basically don't try to understand the other sex. Try instead to trust the other person by achieving as much mutual understanding as possible.

This brings me back to my piece about 'networking democracy' of yesterday. Lies destroy trust. A social system like the voting system of contempory democracy destroys trust by institutionalizing lies. This corruption alienates people into the 'other side'. My goal with the 'networking democracy' is to revitalize this trust by rebuilding it from the bottom-up to form a societal brain of decision-making.

Finally, I would like to say that I'm going to make contributions like this scientifically viable by inserting references to articles or books. Like I said, watch this space. (Oh yeah, don't tell me women are not acctracted to the 'lower' level by their own will, I've not been made corrupted by social engineering like you then)

Politics... ouch!

2006-03-25T20:42:00.000+01:00

This contribution will be about politics. Hold on! Don't run away. I can give you a perspective you haven't thought about yet. My vision is about 3 keywords: Quality, Innovation and Insight.

Quality essentialy means 'quality of life'. This is achieved through balance: balance between selfisness and altruïsm, between us and the environment. Better results for caring for eachother can be obtained by introducing a course of 'Relationships' in high school, promoting volunteering for improving social cohesion, etc. Caring for the environment basically comes down to a turf-based war. Territory. Acre pro acre. Loving flora and fauna? Yes. But also making sure that not more soil is being squandered by unnecessary low-level housing for example. Quality of life also means appreciating the pleasures of life and celebrating them, like sex for example. And reflecting about it, by meditation, discussion or other pleasures of the mind.

Innovation is essential for delivering future solutions for problems of the present. It gives hope to humanity by keeping the options open. We need it. How do we deal with these tools? Wel, by giving the morally right example. You don't esteem yourself capable of helping out this way? Support somebody else then. There is so much that can be done, always. Ofcourse perfection is not from this world, other people are there to correct your mistakes. You'll probably think by now: "What on earth has innovation to do with morals??!" Morals can give direction to the innovation 'market'. If people think it's important to be environmentally concious, the market will aim for that demand. Ofcourse innovation should also come from oneself and be promoted, like creative (!) self-expression is in the arts. The problem is that only few are chosen.

Insight is severely lacking in society nowadays. From academics who are tied to the industry and the state to ordinary citizens who have little to say in the decision process, a strategy to to tackle contempory complex, challenging problems is astoundedly missing. Coördination? Can one party president achieve that? Absolutely not. No sane person believes that anymore. I used to think an inverse pyramid as a voting system for democracy was a viable bottom-up solution. I named it 'colordemocracy'. You can always contact for more info about that concept, but now I have serious doubt about it. And that's good. I now firmly believe in 'network democracy', or better yet, 'networking democracy'. Following criteria should be met:

- The thin line between the 'active agent' (e.g. oil extraction in a virgin territory) and the 'passive agent' (e.g. native resident) who's affected should be mediated by a nod of a 'gatekeeper' (decision-maker). This would form a 'decision-neuron' (DN). This would have the benefit of common people to be involved in the decision making of their choice, not feeling powerless anymore.
- Several DN's should group together to form a 'policy-neuron' (PN) where a real leader would be responsible.
- DN's should be inclined naturally to be involved in competion for most power for their subject and their person 'ideally' through quality work and networking. That way a flexible reorganisation would result to the most optimal organisation in a given time for a given society. New PN's with new coördination methods made for solving problems with aspects of exponentiality due to e.g. science would continiously evolve from this strategy.
- DN's and PN's should be put in line by democratic checks and balances ofcourse. This should come from the mediating agents, if half of them kicks out the 'gatekeeper' a new one can apply, just like a sheriff in the US. A DN can kick out a higher 'gatekeeper' of a PN beween him and another DN for example. Again the flexibility of this self-organizing adaptive system would ensure future-proof social organisation.

Let me know if other criteria are necessary or if I forgot, overlooked something or if I just pissed you of.

Hatebreed, Damnation A.D. etc comin' up!

2006-03-25T13:16:00.000+01:00

- Breaking news -

A new urgent update straight away: Hatebreed, Damnation A.D. and Ringworm are performing in June at Hof Ter Loo in Antwerp!!

Here's the shabang:

SUNDAY 11 JUNE, 2006

HATEBREED

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER

[HOF TER LO - ANTWERPEN - DOORS: 17h00 - FIRST BAND: 18h00 - START PRESALE: 17-04-2006 - PRESALE PRICE: € tba]

SUNDAY 18 JUNE, 2006

DARKEST HOUR

MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

RINGWORM

DAMNATION A.D.

etc.

[HOF TER LO - ANTWERPEN - DOORS: 15h00 - FIRST BAND: 16h00 - START PRESALE: 27-03-2006 - PRESALE PRICE: € tba]

More info

Show report and more...

2006-03-25T09:40:00.000+01:00

Hi folks,

I went with Pieter Cochez to the show with Drowning as listed here before. He told me the shows with 100 Demons (New old singer) and Ramallah (reason unknown) are cancelled. The first part of the lacklustre, I must say, performance of Drowning is taped on DVD. Send me a mail and I'll make a copy for you (crew members exclusive for now - but who else is interested? haha). Expect this to continue in the future with hopefully videos on our blog. I don't know.

Show report Drowning
Ok, the first band sucked, the second band kinda sucked, Drowning itself mega-sucked. We went home early. There you go. Seriously, Moker had some nice beatdown but structure of the songs lacked. Like all three bands they were heavily metal-like what was to be expected, but still... Dead End Path have comrades of Cochez in 'em (ex-drummer of Uncrowned) so I'll be nice to them: The start of the show was below par, but the breaks at the end were great. The show of them grew, which wasn't so difficult because it took them ages to set-up due to lousy sound (feedback problems) and a replacement of the drumset! Jeezes, the organisation should have arranged one drum for all, all for one drum... know what I mean? Nice location btw, but the stairs at the entrance were not very handicapfriendly... I know I'm bitchin', but I was dissappointed with the show last night. We were home at close to one o' clock and we don't live far away from that place! What concerns Drowning, they transformed in a boring metalband. Saying more would give them too much credit.

Concerning my philosophy, the latest I came up with is this:
The reason we exist, besides living like it is, is to find peace (of mind, etc). You all should know I believe in God since several years, So it's the same for Him. What does that peace mean? Knowing all (or all you can know as a human) and being able to live with it. That is only possible when every being and structure of Reality is permated (is that a correct word?) with Love. With Love you are 'true' ('on time') and thus react spontanously even if you know it all. The full spectrum of Love has to be earned by lessons gained. The same goes with Evil now, what will transform in a complete Real (necessary the stop the competiveness of Good) soon, no longer disfigured by Lies. Then will come the temptation of a new Evil through the form of the Fountain of Eternal Youth. So will we learn new ways of Love until we get at some point where we will find eternal Peace. That's what I believe. Mail me to find out more, I will post more anyway. Call me a nut and I will break yours.

Comments, please.

New gigs

2006-03-20T15:56:00.000+01:00

Check 'em out:

SATURDAY MARCH 25TH 2006

PSALM (00:00) - BLOOD REDEMPTION (00:00) - ONE ETHIC (00:00) - FALLEN (00:00) - ODK CREW (00:00)
[Venue: Tobit (jh), Vilvoorde - Starting time: 19:30 - Price: €5.00]

SATURDAY APRIL 1ST 2006

KNUCKLEDUST (00:00) - AMEN RA (00:00) - COLLAPSED (00:00) - CONVOI (00:00) - SAVIOUR (00:00) - BREAK AND ENTER (00:00) - NINEBAR (00:00) - DIECAST UNIT (00:00) - IRATE (00:00) - PUSHED TOO FAR (00:00) - RETALIATE (00:00)
[Show's name: Out Of Control 2 - Venue: JOC Tielt, Tielt - Starting time: 14:00 - Ending time: 00:00 - Price presale: €10.00 - Price doors: €12.00 - Extra info: Irate (NY) last Belgian show ever!! - E-mail: outofcontrolcrew@gmail.com - Phone: 0477 / 38 69 60]

FRIDAY APRIL 7TH 2006

100 DEMONS (00:00) - CAST ASIDE (00:00)
[Venue: Lintfabriek, Kontich - Starting time: 19:30]

SATURDAY APRIL 15TH 2006

RAMALLAH (00:00)
[Venue: Lintfabriek, Kontich - Starting time: 19:30]

SATURDAY MAY 6TH 2006

BACKOFF92 (00:00) - BOXING CRIME (00:00) - COLDSTARE (00:00) - PUSHED TOO FAR (00:00) - RISE AND FALL (00:00)
[Show's name: Hardcore-fest - Venue: Fluks, Baasrode - Starting time: 18:00 - Ending time: 00:00 - Price: €5.00 - E-mail: Gijs@fluks.be - Url: http://www.fluks.be]

SUNDAY MAY 7TH 2006

BORN FROM PAIN (00:00) - I-REJECT (00:00) - IN BLOOD WE TRUST (00:00) - KICKBACK (00:00) - ROLL THE DICE (00:00)
[Show's name: Kontich Kickdown presents - Venue: Lintfabriek, Kontich - Starting time: 16:00 - Ending time: 22:00]

That's it. Quite promising, isn't it? Many thanx to Uprise. LET-ME-KNOW, folks.

Gigs overview

2006-03-07T15:01:00.000+01:00

Here's some shows I would like to visit with the crew:

THURSDAY 16/03/2006

BLOOD REDEMPTION (00:00) - ODK CREW (00:00) - SPOIL ENGINE (00:00)
[Frontline, Gent - Starting time 20:00u - Ending time 23:30u]

24/03/2006

Drowning

Dead End Path

Moker

[JH Ter Walle - Kattestraat 72 - 9150 Kruibeke - 20:00u - 7 Euro]

SATURDAY MARCH 25TH 2006

LIAR (00:00) - DEADSOIL (00:00) - NYARI (00:00) - SETTLE THE SCORE (00:00) - END OF DAYS (00:00) - PURIFIED IN BLOOD (00:00) - DIE... MY DEMON (00:00) - SIX REASONS TO KILL (00:00) - SCREAMING SILENCE (00:00) - CURSE (00:00) - RUN-AMUCK (00:00) - MORPAIN (00:00) - AS WE FIGHT (00:00) - DO OR DIE (00:00)
[Show's name: Maximum HxC Fest - Venue: Waux-Hall, Mons - Starting time 11:00 u - Ending time: 00:00u - Price presale: €18.00 - Price doors: €13.00]

SUNDAY MARCH 26TH 2006

KING OF CLUBZ (00:00) - BLOODSHOT (00:00) - WHATEVER IT TAKES (00:00) - FIRST ALLIANCE (00:00) - NASTY (00:00) - PUSHED TOO FAR (00:00)
[Show's name: OLDSCHOOL BEATDOWN NIGHT - Venue: Lintfabriek, Kontich - Starting time: 16:00u - Ending time: 22:00u]

WEDNESDAY MARCH 29TH 2006

TRENCHFOOT (00:00) - FIRST ALLIANCE (00:00) - WHATEVER IT TAKES (00:00) - KING OF CLUBZ (00:00)
[Venue: Frontline, Gent - Starting time: 19:00u]

That's it for the month of march! Many thanx to Uprise.be for supplying the giglist info. Let me know in the comments if you would like to join in.

Interview HC band

2005-09-26T11:53:00.000+02:00

Ok, I still don't suffer from a nervous breakdown. Yet. *laugh* Here's the interview from the band:

-------------------------------
1. The necessary question: who’s who in the band?
We are a six piece band. Two singers, Michael Claus & Bram Vervisch. We also have 2 guitar players, Servaas Dejaegher and Frederik Plets. The bassplayer is Simon ' mong " Denys and drummer is Wim Boudeweel.

2. How did you guys meet?
Bram, Servaas, Wim and Mong already played in a band, called Xanthippe. The did some shows but found out that the thing they were doing just wasn't right so they started with something new, the beatdown hardcore. The 4 already new Michael from his other band, Inner Silence (rip). They asked Michael to do one song together and so they did. Everyone heard that it sounded pretty good so they decided to go together as a 5 headed band named First Alliance. Wim and mong were active in another band to, namely 2- Minute Warning ( rip). When that band stopped, pletse was bandless, and at that moment first alliance was looking for an second guitar player so pletse joined the band.

3. What does HC mean to you?
Hardcore for us is more then the music. It's about the good friends, the shows, the fun we have while rehearsing, while playing shows. It's a way to express ourselves.

4. I’ve visited your website (well done btw) with the lyrics of your mcd etc. What do you mean with ‘HC people are leaders’?
Not leaders in the way of " we rule the world ". Leaders as in, we say what we mean, and mean what we say, to use the words of whatever it takes. We are here to express what we feel and what we think. We do not say what the people want to hear. We give our opinion. To bad for those who don't agree.

5. Do you have an explanation for the recent surge of HC in Belgium?
I think a lot of people finally see that hardcore is the right thing to do! haha

6. sXe = here to stay?
I do not know. Bram, one of our singers is sXe, and respect for what he does. It's just a choice people make. It's not a problem as long as they don't start to push people in being sXe.

7. The intro of Veni, Vidi, Vici is fearsome. How did you get to it?
Just the intro? hahaha...We were at a rehearsel and we had some problems with a riff and everyone starts to jam , and is getting angry cause we can't get that one riff right and at one moment, wim plays the snair like that, and everybody immediatly said... that's the intro of our new song so ...

8. Which current American band do you recommend?
For me , personal, Built upon frustration. It fuckin' blows your brains out. Hard and aggressive, the way i like it.

9. Finally, do you occasionally read a blog? Do you track the scene on the net?
Offcourse we do... but we don't really care about it. Hardcore is something that happens in real life, not on the internet.
----------------------------------------

Some interesting snipbits, as always:
Conciousness is the structure that strives for internal consistence.

Everything lives. E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Even Time and thus Predestination. Predestination is a complicated and troubling subject.
For this and more, check my annotated diary. It'll come out next year. I'll keep you posted.

Promising

2005-07-20T23:04:00.000+02:00

This will be a short one. Pfiou, I just completed a major entry for my diary. I'll be on a deserved holiday the next couple of days with my folks. I'll be checkin' out some hc shows too... I'll keep you posted.

I met the crew from First Alliance on the show with Arkangel last Monday... they were cool. I hope to be able to post the interview soon. The girl's name is Alison btw, not Elsie.

I hate mosquito's, don't you? Tsk, go away you beast!

Concerning the 'mainstream', I'm pleasantly surprised by the new single from Destiny's Child: 'Cater 2 U'. I know you'll be sayin' it's a lot of crap, but honestly what a difference from before. My my my...

I tried to connect my new keyboard to my pc for playing with the program 'Reason 3.0'. It's a whole music studio, dammit! It worked great. I'm just a middle class brat sometimes... haha.

People, comments are much appreciated if you're reading this.

Oh and I kept this sweetie for last:
'Look for the sheep in every wolf and the wolf in every sheep, that's how you can judge. Judge, but don't condemn. You see, every human being is equalworthy, because it's sufficiently handicapped to not rise above the other. People with the least visible handicaps, have a big handicap: they execute the wishes of other people. Only they don't realise it themselves.'

Til next week!

Rehab on the attacks

2005-07-13T23:13:00.000+02:00

Also 'shocked'? Check this link out and find out for yourself, what in my opinion, the true story is behind modern terrorism in the West. My global view on modern terrorism in general I explained in a comment on my last post. I would very much like to know what my readers think.

My alternative for the War on Terror:
- Talk, talk, talk.
- New socio-political system, bottom up, that brings more cohesion and ideological clarity in society. More later on.
- Ignore the attacks but find and prosecute the guilty of the atrocity.
- Put things in perspective: the current situation in Iraq and Rwanda anyone?
- Humor. Lots of it. See above.
- Leave no-one behind.

I made new hc-friends at a show last sunday in Ieper, Belgium. Their band is called 'First Alliance' and I'll be posting an interview with them after their performance this monday at the 'Gentse feesten' (means: partying in Gent) in Belgium. I bought their demo, very nicely done, the music is reasonably cool beatdown. They have to evolve, of course, they only just started playing but already they have an inspirering Roman intro in the last song 'Veni, Vidi, Vici'. Animalistic. It stroke me that a lady who accompagnied them, called Elsie (pronounced: 'Elsy'), was very truthful in her talking about hc and the singer of the band 'Life of Agony'. I like that very much, she gained my respect. (Who am I? =)

There seems to be an enormous hype around sex for the moment... about 'porn and women' in the tv-magazine, the notorious clip 'Disco Inferno' of 50 Cent uncensored on TV at 8.30 PM asked for by a girl, a short topic about oral sex displayed in an art piece on the same channel at 7.30 PM, etc... I'm not used to being surpassed on the left (progressive, my interpretation of 'leftist') rather than on the right. I don't quite like it. It makes me feel like I'm losing control of the world around me. It's going too fast now. It's all about sex without guilt or shame now, which is cool and new and necessary to hold on to eachother in this uncertain age, but not at this breathtaking speed.

See you next time! Don't be scared!

Shy, new but determined

2005-07-06T22:52:00.000+02:00

Welcome to my blog. The purpose of this effort is storytelling: my life and the exposure of my ideas. I warn you straight away though, my philosophical writing is very tight. I am ofcourse nevertheless more than happy to further explain my thoughts. I write about spirituality, metafysica, morality, politics and society in general. Concerning my daily life I share thoughts about music, sex, friendship, etc.

So here I go. I'm pretty much into the discovery of several aspects of lust nowadays. Love, sex, power and evil. I don't know about you, but I have since the last couple of weeks an intense feeling of pleasure, just by being. And it is still mounting. Go figure. I'm trying to figure out where it comes from.

I've started to write a book the last couple of months. Part story of my life, part diary, part exposé of my ideas, it will be published at the end of next year if all goes well. This blog is a parallel effort to comfort people who ask themselves questions about life. It's my speciality to try to give answers.

Love is not the same as goodness. It is so much more. The essence of our lives. In the Tree of Wisdom where Evil is the Seed that creates, Good is the trunk of the tree, a set of unwritten rules to cope with Evil, Love is the flower that grows out of the interaction between Good and Evil. Out of Love comes the fruit after conceiving (sex) so new seeds can grow. We're all in it for the pulp of the fruit: Pleasure.
Pleasure is obliged in Creation, because after you have sown, you must harvest; after having harvested, you must eat your fruits of labour. Otherwise effort is spoiled so time is wasted. Time is precious because we're on a ideal path to discover the truth of reality with it's own laws.
The Seed is hard and bitter. It breaks taboos and grows. It's a ferocious cry for love. That's what Evil is. It puts on a black mirror trying to enforce love from you.

Ok, now you had a taste of how and what I think. Comments are much appreciated. See you next time.