Back to School!

I’m a student again! So it’s late nights, smoking around by the bike sheds and spending all the pocket money on takeaways and beer. Oh. Not much change there, really.

Anyhow, I’ve joined school to learn Dutch. It starts next week and will be every Tuesday and Thursday for what will probably seem like the rest of my life.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m really looking forward to learning the lingo – it’s just that I’m not really the best of students… boredom sometimes creeps in after the first few minutes - sorry - lessons. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Interesting registration process, too. I had to go to Het Huis van Nederlands – the House of Dutch - and go through a 3-hour interview process. Not a problem, really – they were incredibly thorough – I guess the purpose of it is to assign each person to the course that is right for them. Which meant an IQ test. Oh dear. A few people I know would be happy to see proof that I’m an idiot. Anyhow, I digress.

Following the IQ test, there was another written test and then a verbal one. And following a small bribe (I’m joking) I was put into the 3 rd year class. Oh dear. I’m in with the big guys.

During the process, I really felt grateful (is that the right word?) though. I was sat next to an elderly lady who spoke not a word of English. Or French. Or German. Let alone Dutch. I think she was from the Middle East. And she really battled to understand what needed to be done. How difficult that must be? Total immersion in a country where you cannot understand anyone. Or anything.

Talk about immersion, though. I had a giggle. The House of Dutch has a brochure for those who want to learn Dutch for the first time. The brochure is packed full of really useful and essential information - what you’ll learn, how much the course costs, where to go, etc. Guess what language it’s published in? Yup, Dutch. Really useful for someone wanting to learn Dutch and not being able to speak any of it.

It reminds me of an experience I had in London once – Seth Godin had it too – I walked into a hairdresser running an errand for a friend. The receptionist asked if I had an appointment for a haircut. Ah. A comedian. You see, I’m follicly challenged. But she wasn’t trying to be funny. Just dumb.

But, to conclude – the House of Dutch has a fantastic team of people - really friendly, patient and interesting, too.

Also this past weekend was a graffiti showcase – The Meeting of Styles. Some amazing art and artists. Check out my pics.

Antwerp is still amazing me. The past weekend was the start of the Culture Season, and to kick it off, they had a ‘culture market’ of sorts. Seemingly every theatre company, art house, music academy – every organisation involved in the arts it seemed – had a stall in and around the centre of Antwerp, promoting their new line-up of performances. How cool is that? In other cities, the ‘cultural stuff’ – the stuff that has the potential to move, inspire and change people – is really hidden. Here you seem to have access to it all. Brilliant.

Oh – at the cultural market, there was this lady singing Piaff – lovely. Wish you could hear it.

Days of Wonder...

And days of Thunder, too. Rain has come to Belgium. Well, they need the water for the beer, I guess. All is well, then.

Saturday was music fest Pukkelpop. Muddy, wet and cool. Truly fantastic. There was a bit of work involved. We’re experimenting with vlogs at work – and managed to film an interview with Coldcut. Hope to have the finished result, soon. But check out their website by the way for some live footage in the meatime.

There were some real treats at Pukkelpop. Oh my. Check out this band 65 Days of Static. It may not be your cup of tea... but see what you think:

Please take my word that seeing them live at Pukkelpop was amazing. For me – and I really enjoy most kinds of music – there are only a few bands or pieces of music that I think really elevates you to another place. I reckon its quite rare. It’s almost like a spiritual thing. It really touches your soul, I guess. And for me, it’s only happened a few times. When I saw Eddie Reader live. And Tori Amos. And then this band. And when I played in the Sunday School band many years ago. Don’t laugh. Serious. It’s like the composers know something. Or have switched onto something. Anyhow. I be still now.

Other highlights of the fest for me were local band Think of One – kind of like a Brazillian / Huckleberry mashup stylee. Cool. And of course the Coldcut performance. Nice one. Saw bits of Placebo on stage, too. Nice… but a bit of a tortured artist, methinks.

Tall Ships Races also hit Antwerp this weekend. The name is quite descriptive, so not much more help from me there. But beautiful. A couple of weeks ago I wanted to run away and join the circus. Now I want to run away and sail a Tall Ship. Even a short ship. A few years ago I went on a sailing holiday - one of the best I've had. More pics on my Flickr pages.



Walking along the Harbour looking at all the … tall ships, I stumbled across another concert. I tell you, over the past 4 months I;ve seen more live music in Antwerp than I have in the past year. Anyhow – perhaps a well known fact in Belgium, but new to me – was a R& B performer, Leki. I tell you, the lady has pipes. She really was fantastic. I bought her CD, too.

Just what are we going to do in the Winter?

The bells, the bells...

I live near The Cathedral in Antwerp and have a beautiful view of the clock tower – see:

It’s a lovely place to visit – got some Rubens masterpieces inside, too. In some tourist guide I read the exact number of bells in the tower – somewhere between 30 and 40 unique-sounding bells. Anyhow, what we need to understand is that there’s more than one. And therein lies my…umm… dilemma.

The ringing pattern goes something like this: on the hour, on the half hour, at quarter past and then at quarter to. And we’re not talking a little ding according to the hour. No. We’re talking mini operettas, here.

Then, on church days – which pretty much appear to be every other day - the bells ring constantly for 15 to 20 minutes, announcing the beginning and end of a church service. Sometimes, there is more than one service a day.

Furthermore, but not withstanding, they have a ‘concert’ every Monday and Friday, where they have hooked up the bells to some kind of organ-like contraption, and some individual bangs out famous tunes on the bells. For an hour. Solid. No break.

Is it just me, or are you sensing just a teeny, tiny bit of overkill here?

Bells are generally a good idea. But a simple ding-dong really does it for me. Further than the two-note ding-dong, there’s not really a lot in it for me. More than two notes on the bells becomes…well, to be honest… about as enjoyable as that winning Eurovision song.

But no-one else in Antwerp seems to notice. I’m slowly forming the opinion that it’s possibly the reason why Antwerpians are so cool. So un-phased by things. It’s because they’re deaf.

So, my personal challenge – my coping mechanism - is to think of something positive whenever those bells start ringing. Pray for me.

Anyhow, I still love Antwerp. And it’s bells. Ooh, there they go again. Bless.

My best friend Mark (from the UK) was out for a couple of days last week. We had a blast – much eating, drinking, and exploring. And I made a new friend – the owner of a local pub. How absolutely fantastic is that? Roger. Fascinating man and between his English and my Dutch, it’s a wonder we can understand each other. But beer is a magic potion. Particularly Belgian beer. It can also make you deaf, but this is another story altogether.

This weekend it’s Pukkelpop – a three-day music festival up (or down?) in Hasselt. Fantastic line-up. Radiohead, Daft Punk, Keane, Scissor Sisters… It comes highly recommended by folks here. And it’s been going for a number of years, too. One of the key reasons for their success, it seems, is that prior to the event, they have an online voting forum, where you can request which bands you want to see. So, in theory, the most popular bands are booked. Cool. Will have some pics – and hopefully some video – next week.

P.S. Also expect a deluge of You Tube posts here, too… I’ve found some real corkers that I think you will like. If you don’t, you're welcome to come and listen to the bells with me. Toe-tapping guaranteed. Or a tapping of some sort.

Laundry Day

I don'’t know. Am I getting old? I'’ve just whacked a Paul Simon CD on.

And don't know what'’s more shocking... The fact that I had a Paul Simon in my collection, or the fact that I willfully chose to play it.

What surprises me is that I actually like it. It's quite good. There have been a few toe taps, too. Please don't tell anyone.

Anyhow, back to the case in point. Laundry Day. I love it. Don't own a washing machine myself, so I use the Laundromat. That'’s not the part I love, though. The part I love is that there is a pub near to my Laundromat. So Laundry Day is Drinking Day. Well, every day is drinking day. But having an Official Day for it kind of makes it... official...… don'’t you think?

Anyhow, Sunday was Laundry Day. And after stuffing the month'’s washing (I'’m kidding) into the dirty (I'’m not kidding) washing machines, it was off to the pub. Only to be stopped in track by a fantastic parade along the streets. Guild clubs in full historic costume, drummers, pipe bands, flag tossers - I mean they were throwing flags in the air - I'’m not being rude - it was lovely. There was even an archery competition in Grote Markt.

Antwerp had even shut down the city centre to cars - it was car-free Sunday - Autovrij Antwerp. Lots of families about in the sun.

In other news, I've been reading Andy Monfried's blog, here. Andy has some interesting insights - you can really learn a lot. But also, some worthwhile insights on current events in Israel and the Lebanon. Have a look - what do you think? There's so much bias in the media, that I reckon you can only learn.

Oh, Andy has some rocking tastes in music. Check out his cracking photo of Sir Keith of the Stones (he'’s not really a Sir, but wouldn'’t it be a nice, Your Majesty?).

Though, I don'’t know if Andy will speak to me again after.... Paul.

I've added some new pics on Flickr, too. Here's one in honour of the city and folks of Antwerp.



Incidentally, there is an official Laundry Day here in Antwerp, too. Another music fest of sorts. I'’ll try make it and let you know how it goes.

Rock on, Paul. Yeah.

The World Sings, Dances in Antwerp

Sfinks was the event of the weekend – a world music festival on the outskirts of Antwerp that was awesome. Awesome Antwerp. Again.

It reminded me of the Womad festivals I had been to in South Africa and the UK – bringing back some good memories. I didn't take that many pics - doing two things at once (listening and taking pics) ain't my speciality. It's a wonder both hands can type at the same time. Here's a pic - more on my Flickr pages, too.




Both Sfinks and Womad are real family events – you can bring your kids and mates along, and really enjoy yourself. Everyone is welcome – and it’s a lovely, chilled-out event.

In fact, I once spoke to someone who worked Womad – and he compared it to other Rock Festivals, like Glastonbury.

“The difference is that at Glastonbury,” he explained “you’ll have people walking around the campsite early in the morning offering ‘Charlie, Dope, LSD?’ Whereas at Womad, you’ll get people walking around offering ‘Guardian, Times, Independent?’.

That’s the difference, then.

Sfinks highlights included Spanish group 08001 who sounded like they were produced by Brian Eno. Fantastic. Arab melodies, African voices, and a hybrid of acoustic, rock, reggae, R&B and soul. Is there anything left? Do yourself a favour and check out the gallery on their website – you can watch clips from live performances.

One thing I wasn’t certain to handle was what they sang about – world events, war, poverty, struggle, and more. Are you supposed to dance to that? I don’t know. Or pay attention and consider? What you reckon?

Another joy was listening to La Tana, a chanteuse from Seville, singing flamenco with only a guitarist and solo drummer. Breathtaking. I wish you could hear it. Also, the only band that I saw performing that smiled at each other when they were playing.

I also got to see Yasmin Levy, singing traditional Jewish-Spanish songs. The whole experience was so emotional – it was spectacular. If you see a CD, pick it up – a blessing to your ears.

I saw quite a few acts, and really enjoyed the whole experience. The festival was brought to a close by Anoushka Shankar, daughter/protégé of master sitar player Ravi Shankar. Again, quite an emotional time for me, as I think it may have been her to close the Womad performance in Reading UK a few years ago. Some fond memories. And interesting, too to see and hear how her music has evolved – she has an Apple Mac (and accompanying dude-what-mixes) on stage. “Live electronics” she called it. Cool.

Finding Leo...

Sometimes I feel like David Attenborough... Traveling the Earth (or Belgium, at least) and journaling my experiences of the many great and wonderful things I've seen. Aside from Him being a Sir, I guess we're pretty similar. Well. Actually. No. We're not really similar. Actually. Forget I ever brought it up. Poles apart.

Anyhow, speaking of exploration, I found Leo! King Leopold that is. Yes! Probably a well-known fact amongst most Antwerpians - but totally amazing and intriguing to us foreigners - is that in Leopoldplaats, there is a massive, empty plinth upon which once was the likeness of King Leopold and his trusty steed, Norman.

Well, since my arrival in Antwerp, I've wondered what ever happened to Leo. Just a plinth now remains, and no statue to speak of. Take a look:



And then, this past weekend, I went a-bicylcing and found Leo in a sort-of graveyard for old statues - take a look:



Wow - it was truly impressive. I wonder when they will put him back?

Also this weekend, I managed to get to the Street Festival in Gent. Oh my - fantastic! Such a beautiful city - like a labyrinth with street signs. Nice. Loads of people and such a wonderful atmosphere.

Also this weekend, I popped over to the film festival in one of the outdoor Hangars along the Schelde. They've whacked a bunch of beach sand inside a Hangar, and invited people to watch a series of films on summer nights. It was fantastic. About a thousand of us crammed into the Hangar on Saturday night to escape the rain and watch a movie. Lovely.

Last night and over the next few days is a Rhythm and Blues fest in Grote Markt - cool music with lots of biker-type people about. Everyone having a good laugh. More pics on that soon. Speaking of pics, I've uploaded more to my Flickr pages. Check it out.

Oh. I have to tell you about this programme I saw on television. Now, I don't own a television, but had dinner at my latest chum's house - Serge. He has said television. So it was quite a novelty seeing the wee sprites in the box. And then came this programme called Fata Morgana. Oh my. Again - probably common knowledge in Belgium, but I was truly bowled over by it. Even found it emotional.

The gist of it is that this TV crew go into a small-ish town and set random townspeople weird - and seemingly impossible - tasks. Things like getting 500 vespa's together as part of a town rally. Creating a human Italian flag of 4,000 people. Staging the Italian opera Nabuko with locals. Staging a fashion show with 100 Italian Models. Giving free Gelato to 12,000 people. Guinness Book of Records stuff.

The TV crew wander the streets and find random people. They issue the challenge. And seal it all with a handshake.

And you know what. They do it. The random people that the TV crew pick off the street actually arrange and do it. And the entire town (I think it was Oostkemp) get behind them and support them.

These ordinary people do something remarkable. These people turn into heroes. It took my breath away. Something so simple and seemingly so pointless (500 vespa's - qua?) turned apparently normal people into giants. I can't quite describe it. But ordinary people like you and I - they're given this seemingly impossible challenge. And they do it. They pull off something remarkable. Remarkable. It took my breath away.

Of giants, elephants, beaches and Mojita's

Hot, hot, hot (yeah, I know – fantastic observation skills)! It’s been 30 degrees and climbing. No complaints though; it’s lovely.

And what a past couple of weekends it has been. Talk of the town must have been the visit of the Little Giant and the Sultan’s Elephant to Antwerp last weekend. Oh my. I just can’t begin to describe it. One huge marionette puppet and an even humungous-er elephant, both operated by minions of nameless puppeteers, on a journey through the streets of Antwerp. What an adventure.

I spent the better part of a weekend following them, taking pics and staring (go easy, it’s better than train spotting, no?). The city was packed with people. And we were all taken to another place – in our imaginations, at least.

Check out some of my pics on Flickr. Some shaky video on YouTube is below.





Oh my. Speechless. Not really… hence the blog. But utterly amazing. Thank you clever people at Royal De Luxe. May I run away and join your circus?

This past weekend, matey Jason was over from Manchester. Jay is Canadian and works at Oxfam in the UK. His visit was an excellent opportunity to try some new local restaurants and go exploring. We discovered my new cocktail of the moment – Mojita. What a clever idea. Little bit of vodka (or lot of bit, dependant on your demeanour), soda, sugar, mint and ice. Love it.

And we found Strandwerpen – a beach built on the sides of the Schelde. All the beautiful people seem to go there – with their Louis Vuitton swimming trunks and their Channel specs. My Bermudas from H&M caused quite a stir. And not in the way you think. Anyhow, I digress. Strandwerpen seems to be sponsored by Martini. I rather like them now. Cunning little marketers.

Summer in the City

As a South African, what I really appreciate about Europe is that Summer is an event. The sun comes out so rarely, that when it does, it's like a national celebration. I love it.

And what a summer weekend it turned out to be. 30 degrees C. Absolutely lovely weather.

I went for a cycle along the River Schelde, which was cool. Really lovely. On the way back, I cycled past the Navigaytion event - it's kind of like Antwerp's answer to a gay pride party (I think). I stopped to... well... stare... and my bike (you remember her) was grabbed (in a nice way) by a drag queen.

I've never laughed so much - we must have spent no more than 5 minutes talking - in which time more swearing and one-liners came from her lips than... well, I don't know what. Really funny. His name is Selwyn. Not sure what her name is. Here she is with TLVVF:



Imagine - that head-dress in that weather. Oh my. Turns out Selwyn is from South Africa, too. Small world. And small bike, too. With place just for one - and after a nice, pleasant chat - I cleared off. And then found another lady (I'm guessing this one was real) handing out free beer. What a good idea. A promotional thing. Some new beer. Tastes like river water. But at least it's canned.

After the beer, I stumbled across some rhythm and blues festival, which was such a treat. Here's a pic - but there's more on my Flickr pages. Real cool bands & tunes.



Some time later, I found an area on the banks of the River where the council had put up a stand of sorts and thrown some beach sand down. Just so folks could watch the sunset. And what's more... they've even published the times when the sun will be setting, so you know when it's gonna happen.

Wow. Drag queens, free beer, cool tunes and a sunset stand. What a City.

Hard-Fi - Hard to beat



Umm... guess what I found on the net this evening... blogging via YouTube.


Anyhow, this my tune & band of the summer. Rocks.

Un-pimp Your Ride...

Check it out... winner at Cannes Lions. Hillarious. Vive le Deutschland!

A bit of inspiration on a Sunday

After my race on Sunday (see earlier post), I popped into the local for what has now become a customary bottle of Duval. And I met Kobe and Lea... wow. What a couple. Here they are:



Kobe has 2 weeks to go before finishing his psychology degree (I think it was psychology) and Lea is qualified teaching kids with special needs. They have both previously volunteered in Lange, a township just outside of Cape Town, South Africa. And in September this year they're about to do it again, but this time in Uganda. In fact, you can read all about it on their website - or even join them on the journey.

What really struck me was something that Lea had said in conversation. I asked if it was physically and mentally draining working with children with special needs - of course, she said that it was. So I asked how she got her energy back.

"By dreaming" she said.

How so profound. Well, it was for me anyway.

What a couple. And so young. How'd they do it?! Best wishes to Kobe & Lea on their journey - both on the road and off it :-)

A beautiful day!

Sunday - the sun in shining in Antwerp, it's late afternoon. It's an absolutely beautiful day!

I spent most of it cycling in a family race - 25kms thru' the city. It was fantastic and really chilled. What I've kind of found as typically Antwerpian.... chilled. No rush... just chilled... cool.

Here's my new bike. She's got a name - Thunderbolt-Lightening-And Very Very Frightening. It's brand new - and a lost a pedal during the race. It just fell off. In a kind of suave Antwerpian kind of way. Plonk. On the floor. Well, that's no good. There was still half a ride to go.



So, very thankfully there was patient Mr Policeman on a mountainbike who cautioned the offending pedal, put it back where it belonged, and I finished the race. Only to (once again, thankfully), have it fall off again as I crossed the finish line. Never mind. The friendly man I bought it from (Rent A Bike) replaced it no worries. And gave me a free pedal just in case it happened again. Fantastic.

Now, be nice now.

I came across Banksy's website last night. Have a look. Every now and again, it's so cool to come across fresh thinking. Something new. Something that sparks some creative flair or gets you thinking... or questioning the way things are.

Even though Banksy has been on the scene for some time - his (or her) identity never revealed - I can still look at the work and feel inspired. Check it out.....

Wall in the West Bank....


Pull the plug...


And then there was this film - a silent (or maybe not so silent) reminder to stop shouting at our customers in our advertising and marketing. Let's be nice to people.

A Picture Tells a Thousand Words... what is it saying, then?

One of my favourite blogs of the moment is Creating Passionate Users. A recent post is all about what (meaningful) graphics can tell you. Paint-a-picture kind of stuff.

This one really stood out for me (click on it to see the full size):


Inspiring? Or scary?

Imagine if your life represented graphically as a series of dots (on a PowerPoint slide, of all things!).

Where would you be up to on a page?

And how many dots (do you think) you have left to go? Kind of makes you want to go out and make so sure that the dots you have left really count, yeah?

Anyhow. It inspired me.

How to start a revolution

Last week I went to Gamezone at deSingel and heard something facinating. Most of it was in Dutch, so I may have got it completely wrong...

I went to a talk by Ivan Marovic, one of the people behind a game called A Force More Powerful. Wow. Here's how they describe it...

Can a computer game teach how to fight real-world dictators, military occupiers and corrupt rulers, using methods that have succeeded in actual conflicts—not with laser rays or AK47s, but with non-military strategies and nonviolent weapons?

A Force More Powerful (AFMP), is now available. A unique collaboration of experts on nonviolent conflict working with veteran game designers has developed a simulation game that teaches the strategy of nonviolent conflict. A dozen scenarios, inspired by recent history, include conflicts against dictators, occupiers, colonizers and corrupt regimes, as well as struggles to secure the political and human rights of ethnic and racial minorities and women.

So, Ivan actually lived it - being involved in the real-life protests that brought Milosevic down.

Check out their site - and learn how to start a revolution from scratch. Revolutionising the revolution...

What I learned in Kindergarten...

A few posts ago, I mentioned a guy who said that he learnt all he needed to know in kindergarten.

His name is Robert Fulghum, and he wrote "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" (check out the entry on Wikipedia), which explains exactly that...

So, some things that we all learnt when we were tiny, which we can still apply on our lives today include:

• share everything,
  
• play fair,
  
• don't hit people,
  
• don't take things that aren't yours,
  
• warm cookies and milk are good for your,
  
• take a nap every afternoon, and
  
• when you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.

Anyhow, I found out about him in this book I'm reading at the moment by Phil Dusenberry, called "Then We Set His Hair on Fire".

A legend in advertising and the man behind the famous Michael Jackson Pepsi ad where... they set his hair on fire. Enjoying it so far - all about gaining insight as opposed to getting an idea...

Social / Community eMarketing is where it's at

On Scoble's blog last night, he mentions that Microsoft Word will have the ability to post blogs built in!

And in the Guardian, there's a good story about how Yahoo is strengthening it's social strand with a new homepage - focussed on community / the individual.

Most folks are talking about consumer-generated content... ain't it exciting?! It's so important that we as marketers evolve and recognise how our consumers are behaving... and how they want us to help them on their way.

I do like MS, but what if...

What if Microsoft designed the iPod packaging?

A reminder to keep things simple. I read something last night about a guy (forget his name) who believed that all the wisdom he needed in life was learnt during his kindergarten years. Always share. Don't hit other people. Drink milk and cookies. Take an afternoon nap. Simple stuff sometimes works best.

* I'll post the author's name tomorrow...

The first day of the rest of my e-life...

Here it is! My blog....

I've met a few very inspirational people over the past few days. They've immersed themselves in everything "E". Podcasts, blogging, Second Life and more... They are walking the walk.

I've just started a new role as web editor at Pioneer. Recently we had the privilege of listening to Jim Sterne and Joseph Jaffe (top 13 marketing blog in the US).

So... monkey see, monkey do!

In the meantime, for more about me, take a look at my Flickr pages.