A Hot Ad Campaign Blankets Brussels

Anyone moving through Brussels this week has been exposed to the hot new Diesel jeans billboard campaign. Commercial, of course, but also great photographic art.

My Favorite Podcast: "Street Stories" from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

As some of my friends may know, I love subscribing to podcasts from all over the world. These, of course, are radio shows that can be downloaded -- for free -- into your computer and then be synched into your iPod or other MP3 player.

Well, I listen to many of these, and the best I've ever found come from the Australian Broadcasting Company Radio National's "Street Stories." These are so well-written and well-produced that they put you right into the action; following the rule for good writing, they don't tell you the story ... they show you the story, even though it's radio and not TV.

Here are links to some of my favorite shows:

"Cakleberry Egg Farm"

"It's Not Like the Suburbs"

"The Gourmet Club"

"Mr Universe Mows My Lawn"

Be sure to visit the "Street Stories" website to download these and other programs, as "Street Stories" has now been discontinued. But it's being replaced by a new show, "360," created by the same team, led by Executive Producer Claudia Taranto.

Chocolate Cake and Norwegian Poetry

My Norwegian friend, Knut, invited me over Friday night to drink "the world's best coffee." (The fact that he works for the Nespresso division of Nestlé might make him a little biased.) So, the deal was: I bring "the world's best chocolate cake" and he provides the coffee. Thus, I bopped into Van Dender Chocolatier, which won a gold medal for best chocolate in Belgium a few years ago, and picked up one of their signature cakes. Here's Knut right after I arrived; he couldn't wait to get his hands on the pièce de resistance.

Here is the wonderful Van Dender chocolate cake:

After we devoured about three cups of espresso each (various flavors -- all great) and an equal number of slices of cake, Knut hauled out a big book of Norwegian poetry and started reciting some of his favorite poems for me. The effect was ... mesmerizing! The sounds of the Norwegian language are like none I've ever heard before.

Knut was very proud of the effect he created with his poetry reading, as you can see from this cocky pose. Another highlight of the evening: going through a big picture book of the cathedrals of Europe (Knut used to be a cathedral tour guide) ... which led to our planning an outing to Germany in the spring, where we can visit some of them.

An Evening in Leuven

I took the train to Leuven (only 17 minutes) and met my friend Joey at the very modern train station. He took me on a mini-tour of the city (it was raining kittens and puppies); here he is posed in front of the very impressive City Hall in Leuven's version of the Grand Place.

Joey and his new boyfriend.

We went to a cool cafe in the Old Market Square and then headed to the university to view a film on racism in England. Afterwards, I jumped on the train back to Brussels and had the first class car all to myself (but, hey, it was only for 17 minutes).

The February EGG Party

Sunday was the monthly EGG party at the restaurant Le Cap. Here I ran into friends Alessandro and Knut ...

... and then some of us headed to the nearby Café Novo for a late dinner.

A Visit to the COBRA Exhibit

Saturday my friend Gabriel and I headed to the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts for the penultimate day of the COBRA exhibit. This was a postwar movement centred in Copenhagen, Bruxelles, and Amsterdam.

The exhibit wasn't too exciting, but it was great to be back in the museum, one of our landmarks in Brussels.

My Marathon Friday the Thirteenth

What a day this was! Here's my schedule:

5:00 a.m. Wake up to a cold, cold house.

5:20 Send text to landlord, complaining.

6:45 Send email to landlord, complaining.

7:00 Walk to Gare du Nord.

7:25 Take train to Braine l'Alleud.

8:00 Take bus to Waterloo; start walking to school.

8:15 Slip on ice sheet in parking lot of Carrefour.

8:25 Arrive at school.

9:00 Begin teaching Victoria Diaz y Fernandez. Help her get her copy of SpeedLingua working (partial success). Translate rude English terms for her.

12:00 Finish class; cadge a ride from Victoria to the station.

13:05 Arrive in Bruxelles; tram to Avenue Louise; walk to school.

13:30 Begin class with Soumia Hmimach.

15:30 Finish class; head home.

17:00 Begin 15-minute rest.
18:00 Drinks with Ludmilla and Marilyn.
20:00 Arrive at Belgaña; greeted warmly by Tom.

20:30 Joined by Gergely.

23:45 Off to the wild party of Maui Am Vill.

4:00 Leave party; taxi home.

5:00 Go to bed, after a long, long day!