Bat For Lashes

Bat for Lashes is one of my favourite bands. Natasha Khan, the lead-singer is amazing! Her voice, her style, I just love love love her!

They have a new album out ("Two Suns") and I still have to go and buy it, but I'm sure that I won't be dissapointed.

From their last album "Fur and Gold" (2006), I loved every single song. Natasha's voice reminds me a bit of Kate Bush, also the whole "vibe" of the album is a bit eerie/ fairytale-ish.

The video for "What's a Girl to do" has some elements of the movie Donnie Darko, which I think is great.



Natasha has amazing style. It's bold, totally insane, but extremely cute. I wish I could walk around like that every day!

Fidelio

Last weekend, I went to the opera here in the Hague. I have to admit, operas are not really for me, but somehow I always end up going anyhow. This time it was the opera Fidelio, the only opera Beethoven ever wrote.

Up until now, I've only been to Italian operas, this one was in German. Not really my cup of tea. But although opera music itself does nothing for me, going to the opera is actually a good thing.

The whole atmosphere and everything surrounding it, is great. It's entertainment! I saw some of the most horrifiying outfits (fur! NO!), some of the most horrifiying Dutch "celebs" (Marijke Helwegen! NO!) and I almost passed out, because the man sitting in front of me had a seriously bad case of dog's breath.

I think it's safe to say that you won't find me at the opera again any time soon...

Teken het Appel voor een Kernwapen Vrije Wereld!

Kernwapens bedreigen onze wereld nog altijd. De negen landen die samen meer dan 25.000 kernwapens bezitten, houden zich niet aan de afspraken om te werken aan een kernwapenvrije wereld. Diverse landen werken aan de ontwikkeling van eigen kernwapens, en er is de vrees dat nucleaire technologie en kernwapens in handen van terroristen terecht komen. De tijd is rijp voor concrete stappen! Steun daarom de oproep aan de Nederlandse regering om officieel te verklaren dat zij de oproep tot een kernwapenvrije wereld in 2020 steunt, zich uit te spreken voor een kernwapenvrij Europa in uiterlijk 2015 en om de kernwapentaak van de Nederlandse luchtmacht te beëindigen.


Teken op www.nonukes.nl

Mario Savio

Today, I was thinking about things that inspire me. I get inspired by images, old photos, fashion, art, music, books, movies...people.

I have a whole list in my head of people who inspire me some way or the other. Right now, I would like to highlight one person on that list. He is probably not that well-known, but to me he is one of the most phenomenal speakers ever.

His name is Mario Savio.

Mario Savio was one of the key members of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement in the 1960's. I could go on and on about this, but his speeches speak for itself. For the people who would like to know more about Mario Savio, activism at Berkeley or the whole sixties era, I can recommend the DVD Berkeley in the Sixties


Mario Savio: Speech Sproul Hall Steps, December 2, 1964


Clip from Berkeley in the Sixties

Weekend

Just spend the weekend by meeting up with friends, shopping with my mom and watching Sex and the City dvds with my boyfriend. He had a huge cold, so that's probably the only reason we were watching them together. He was too weak to protest. ;)

I ran into my old crush, while I was hanging out with a good friend. I hadn't seen him in almost three years. He lives abroad and is probably the last person I would ever expect to run into, but there he was, sitting at our table when I returned from the bathroom. It felt so liberating not to have any feelings towards him whatsoever. Although he wasn't that talkative, it was good to just see him and feel like my normal self. Not like before, a nervous wreck, anxious about the way I came across in the conversation.

So when he left and non-enthousiastically mumbled something like: "I'll see you around." (translation: I Don't Care If I Ever See You Again), I really felt the urge to go all Paris Hilton on him and blurt out: "TTYN!" (Talk To You Never!). Didn't do that of course...

Went to Primark on Saturday with my mom. Bought some cute stuff, but most of what they sell is just rubbish. I really want to plan a quick shoppingtrip to the UK, Primark is just so much better over there! Well maybe in June, after my trip to Istanbul. Which I'm also really excited about!

But...more about that later!

Lay Lady Lay

In a few days, on the 10th , me, my boyfriend and some of my friends will go to the Bob Dylan concert in the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam. I was never a particular fan of Bob, but my boyfriend sort of introduced me to his music. One of the few songs I knew back then was “Lay Lady Lay” and it sort of became “our song” (cheesy!). Every now and then he serenades it to me on his guitar when I’m in the shower. Which is kind of cute, don’t you think?

Nowadays, I’m totally in-the-know about Bob. I’ve listened to the music, I’ve read the books, I’ve watched the documentaries. In two years time my Dylan-knowledge has expanded progressively. The one thing I keep coming back to though are the romances. Maybe that’s a typical girly thing to do, but I’m extremely interested in anything that has to do with Dylan’s love life.

So, as a tribute, I’ve picked out three of Dylan’s (rumoured)lovers/love-interests. Three interesting women with a career of their own, who once fell for the charms of Mr. Dylan. And who happened to have a killer fashion sense!

Edie Sedgwick

Edie Sedgwick is one of Andy Warhol’s most well-known muses and definitely one of the IT-girls of the sixties. Her mod-look became very popular in the sixties and her signature opaque tights are still a hit with fashionistas around the world.


























Francoise Hardy

A French singer and actress who was quite popular in the sixties. Dylan mentioned her in the poem "Some other kinds of songs" on the album sleeve of "Another Side of Bob Dylan".

for françoise hardy
at the seine's edge
a giant shadow
of notre dame
seeks t' grab my foot
sorbonne students
whirl by on thin bicycles
swirlin' lifelike colors of leather spin
the breeze yawns food
far from the bellies
of erhard meetin' johnson
piles of lovers
fishing
kissing
lay themselves on their books. boats.
old men
clothed in curly mustaches
float on the benches
blankets of tourists
in bright red nylon shirts
with straw hats of ambassadors ...




























































Joan Baez

Joan Baez is probably Dylan’s most well-known lover and also my favourite. A singer with an amazing voice, mostly known from her protestsongs in the sixties.

Whole Wheat Cupcake

Today’s the deadline for my master application. I’m hoping to get in at the Journalism & Media programme of the University of Amsterdam. I don’t have high hopes though, of an approximate of 200 applicants only 12 will be admitted to the programme! Of course, I’ll keep all options open, but this is what I really, really, really want!

This programme is every aspiring Dutch journalist’s dream, because it gives access to the most coveted internships in the Dutch newspaper and television world and among the teacher are some of the most appreciated and experienced journalists in the Netherlands. There’s only one but: I tend to have a preference for what I once read was being called “pastry magazines”.

This comes from the thought that the more “serious” magazines and newspapers are “whole-wheat” and the happy-go-lucky fashion magazines tend to be cupcake-material. I’m not sure if this comparison is making any sense, but it comes down to the fact that I see myself more as a cupcake than a whole-wheat bread.

That being said, I know that I can switch on my “serious-mode” and write some pretty whole-wheat articles. That’s what my academic background has taught me to do. I’m just not sure if that’s what I want to do the rest of my life.

Well, maybe I can be a whole-wheat cupcake instead.