Neutral-Moresnet

One of the ‘advantages’ when you are living abroad is that family and friends relate to the place and send you little stories. One of those came from my granny about Neutral-Moresnet. A small country – or rather stretch of land – created so that Germany (Prussia) and France stopped getting into war about it. 104 years of existence – totally forgotten today.

Considering that some people tried to found the first Esperanto speaking state there, the Wikipedia Esperanto page is astonishingly short. But that can’t be linked, can it?

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For gifts and jokes

If you can’t take them, don’t make them.

Idioms home-made

Il faut savoir freiner pour apprécier la vitesse.

To enjoy the speed, one needs to know how to brake.

Magritte Museum, finally

“The term ‘composition’ implies a possible ‘decomposition’ of a painting by means, for example of analysis… In so far as my paintings have validity, they do not lend themselves to analysis.”

“Liberty is the possibility of being and not the obligation to be.”

These are only two of the many quotes of Magritte shown all along the exhibition. All I heard about the exhibition is true: it is very well organised, very complete – as far as I can judge – and very insightful. It is interesting to see the various influences of cubism and dadaism in Magrittes paintings before he developed his very own style. Most of his known paintings aren’t overly elaborated, they are a bit plakativ but still animated. Difficult to describe – best to be seen!

The right attitude to Belgian weather

The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.
– George F. Will

Totally banana

I noticed the other day that the skin of a banana gets thinner the longer you keep it. Is that already a sign of decomposition?

Maybe not such a good idea

Over the years, I self-conditioned myself to fall asleep again exactly at the moment the alarm rings. I’m usually awake a few minutes before the alarm time and would get out of bed without any effort. My “inner swinedog’* however convinces me almost every time that it wouldn’t hurt to stay in bed just a few more minutes. And suddenly I’m late for work…

*I’m considering starting a website to collect all the shamelessly direct and perfectly senseless German-English translations I can possibly come up with. I just doubt it would be funny for anybody else than me.

Les plaisirs de tous les jours – la suite

1 Feb. – Having arguments with a colleague. I’m not good at this kind of stuff. Stomach problems for the rest of the day. (Not really a pleasure that one but worth remembering nevertheless)

2. Feb. – Other people are in even bigger trouble than I am. That shouldn’t make me feel better.

3. Feb. – 2000m in 50 min.

4. Feb. – A glass of white wine and an omlette with tomatos. Much better now.

5. Feb. – Halleluja that this week is over.

6. Feb. – One new bar and one new beer in an evening.

7. Feb. – Breathing; mindwise.

8. Feb. – Almost getting locked in the school at the end of Spanish class. I’m definitely enjoying this class too much.

9. Feb. – Lasagne!

10. Feb. – Talking beer over a steak.

11. Feb. – …

12. Feb. – Surprise invitation for dinner.

13. Feb. – Haircut – enjoying the feeling of leaving unnecessary ballast behind. At least for half a day.

14. Feb. – Sauna! I love heat.

Can someone please tell the conductor that this train is running too fast? It can’t be mid-Feb already…

Colourful life

1) I don’t know what animal that big junk of meet is from though I always imagined it to be the joint of an ox…

2) I like to look at those colourful sausages – red, green, yellow. If I were more found of sausages, I’d try them.

3) The meat I bought there has always been very good.

Et maintenant, on va faire à manger.

Deep reflections