Belgian elections: the results, 10 days before election day

Here are the results of the June 10, 2007 National Belgian elections, ten days before one single vote has been cast. No, I’m not some eccentric nutcase trying to impress you, and yes, go ahead: call my bluff and check back right here on June 10.

“There’s no way to predict election results” I can here you say. But then again, this is Belgium, with numerous parties who factually have no chance of gaining power alone, and therefore must work with each other to form coalition governments.

And indeed, although I won’t be able to provide precise figures on each of the parties involved, I will offer an overall result, with an awe inspiring precision

Election results for June 10: after massive losses for OpenVLD [my photograph: a Antwerp migrant from Morocco on the VLD list], with the Christian-conservatives showing impressive gains, Belgium will be governed by a classic Christian-conservative/ Socialist coalition, potentially along with the Greens. Major shift: the right wing free market ‘liberals’ (Open VLD) will be decimated, causing a shift in the potential building blocks making up the coalition for the next 4 years. The nationalist/extreme right-wing VB will get their 20% share of the nation’s votes, but the party will not be allowed to take part in the next Belgian government.

Confused? No need to be: our complex coalition governments (who often make pre-election deals) make it totally impossible to “really” choose for one party or one clear policy that will actually be carried through. My “prediction” is entirely based upon current polls, all showing the same consistent, clear picture. As easy as stealing candy from a baby.

Crash course Belgian politics: Belgium is governed by coalitions: over the year a mix of conservative-catholics (CD&V/CDH), left-wing socialists (SP/PS), right wing free market ‘liberals’ (Open VLD/MR) [does not equal the concept of the US/British 'liberal', VLD would be considered from an economic position to be conservative in the US], linguistic parties, green-ecologists (Groen/Ecolo) with an very large extreme right-wing/nationalistic party (Vlaams Belang) standing idle at the sidelines.

Quote from Wikipedia: “Since 1999, Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt from the VLD has led a six-party Liberal-Social Democrat-Greens coalition, often referred to as ‘the rainbow government’. This was the first government without the Christian Democrats since 1958. In the 2003 elections, Verhofstadt won a second term in office and has led a Liberal-Social Democrat coalition of four parties.“

I’d like to extend my gratitude to the losing party, OpenVLD: their (socially very liberal) approach allowed for full gay rights (including marriage) and many personal liberal breakthroughs (eg euthanasia), previously blocked by the conservative-catholics.

Tired of Belgian politics? Trust me, so are we. But anyway, feel free to let me know how wrong I am/was.

[This blog post is aimed at non-Belgians or all those who haven't got a clue about Belgian politics]

Help! USA Governor Mitt Romney (Rep. Mass)- linked me, and I’m a liberal!

“I told you so”, my neighbour told me, “blogging about all those battling US candidates from Belgium serves no purpose, no purpose at all”. Her remarks were spurred by a link to this blog (..) for US Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (a US candidate for the Republican nomination) on one of his supporting (but not endorsed/not officially affiliated ) websites. Take a look at www.mittreport.com and scroll down at the bottom, left. There it is was, my blog post (correctly linked) “Hillary Clinton: is she insulting your intelligence too?“.

Dear Governor Romney, I’m as gay and as liberal as they come.

I’m from a country that allows gay couples to marry, has very liberal abortions laws, legalized prostitution and generally shares very few of the values you or your party stands for.

Using my post by one of your supporting websites sure gave me a huge amount of traffic, but then again, I’m a liberal, gay, progressive commercial-free blogger.

Basically, I couldn’t care less about the massive amount of “Republican traffic” your non-endorsed/not-affiliated but most supportive site drives to my blog (although I doubt they enjoyed my posts on gay issues in Belgium)

Just because we share a profound dislike for our dearest Hillary doesn’t mean that linking to a liberal blog by a Belgian liberal author may have been a very wise move for a Republican support site.

I know, I was quite critical of Hillary, but that doesn’t make me your ally in the ongoing presidential mudslinging contest.

I strongly doubt whether anyone at mittreport.com looked beyond the scope of my single, critical post about ‘dear Hillary’.

Damned, wish I could have cashed in on all that Republican traffic by selling “suitable” merchandise

The flying cow: Tales from a photoshopped world

In these days of make belief, we all know that our eyes are no longer a trustworthy source of information. While it may be fun watching this jumping cow (photo credit: unknown author), or various photoshopped animals, we all realize that we’ve grown familiar with anything from manipulated politicians (Condoleezza Rice enjoyed the honor last year) to fake war images. In a world where any picture, any video can be manipulated, who can we still trust?

When entire movies are doctored to fit someone’s agenda or when manipulation by a publisher to create an image that does not reflect reality in any way has become a part of our daily routine, has reality manipulation gone overboard?

In a way, we are all part of this story. Last week a friend of mine mailed a couple of vacation shot, having returned from a tropical break on one of those “wish you were here” islands. None of his images showed a trace of his vacation companion, with whom he ran into an escalated argument after they touched down at Brussels airport. He photoshopped some of his digital holiday memories in order to remove his travel companion…

Has digital faking, with or without any style, become just another part of our lives?

Hillary Clinton: is she insulting your intelligence too?

Should we laugh, or should we cry? This woman is actually asking, with a fake smile, for “a campaign song”, at the very moment US soldiers and Iraqi civilians are still getting killed daily by the dozen (partly thanks to dear Hillary’s 2002 ‘YES’ vote for the invasion of Irak).

Sounds like real, credible statesmanship. Dear Hillary, may I suggest: “Let’s all die, together” as a campaign tune?
Quote from a close friend of mine: “try to remember this simple fact, you stupid c*w : we do have a long-term memory”.

Someone called it “Hillary Clinton’s dumbest YouTube campaign video”, and while she often behaves like a opportunistic fake liberal
[check Hillary Clinton's most detailed voting record here: http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Hillary_Clinton.htm]
she sometimes even shows real neo-conservative traits ["Voted YES on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act. in Mar 2006"].
According to most polls, anywhere from 39 to 50 percent of US respondents claim they’d vote against her no matter what.

Quote from Why Woman hate Hillary:

“how could she continue to support this war for so long? If she’s such a passionate advocate for children, women and families, how could she countenance the ongoing killing of innocent Iraqi families, and of American soldiers who are also someone’s children? If it would be so revolutionary to have a female as president, why does she feel like the same old poll-driven opportunistic politician who seems to craft her positions accordingly?. We don’t want the first female president to be Joe Lieberman in drag, pushing Bush-lite politics. We expect something better.“

With her infantile YouTube/website appeal for “a song”, is she now insulting your intelligence too?

“Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay, watching my life roll away”: Living with HIV in Antwerp

I spent last night with a truly amazing human being on a riverside terrace watching the sun go down over Antwerp, and I would like to share the experience.

First of all, let me reassure you: I’m not infected with the HIV virus, as a living proof that 20 years of never ending Belgian public awareness programs about HIV did make a difference, at least for those who cared to listen.

Unlike many other countries, Belgium approached the HIV pandemic upfront, with a manifest frankness that occasionally resembled a ‘right in your face’ approach. But then again, some people do need a firm slap in their face to wake up to reality.

The ‘truly amazing human being’ I had dinner with overlooking the meandering stream that is shaping this city was infected with HIV though, an ‘incident’ inflicted upon him by his previous partner who’s blatant disregard for his physical safety caused this human tragedy.

Looking at the role awareness might play in relation to the AIDS epidemic, we ignore at our own peril the social structures of our society that makes this epidemic still move the way it still does. Awareness obviously is a vital prerequisite for prevention, with the significant Antwerp gay subculture being a well informed part of society. But infections still occur on a daily basis. “HIV is no longer a crisis if only because by definition a crisis can’t be life long” a sociologist tried incorrectly labeling the current situation. Tell that to all those who still get infected daily in this small, extremely well informed society.

Anyway, while we had our glass of white wine and enjoyed the sunset my most valued friend explained how he coped with HIV: getting involved with Sensoa, the Antwerp expert organisation on sexual health and HIV, reaching out and spending much of his spare time visiting schools to make sure that the abstract notion of HIV infection became a living human being, stepping right into their young lives.

His engagement touched me, and while Otis Redding’s “Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay, watching the tide roll away” played in the background, I couldn’t help but feel an outpour of warm empathy for this compassionate, caring friend of mine.

You may not be involved in HIV prevention, but you sure must be surrounded by caring people who do make a difference by showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others. Do share your stories by posting a comment

Antwerp prostitute exposes names of no-show customers online

Hotmarijke, a local Antwerp prostitute with a flourishing porn/dating website [warning: explicit but oh so predictable, dull and insipid] has taken the rather unusual step to post the full names (and phone numbers..) of “clients” who do not turn up for their “appointment” or sex-date on her own website. Slightly odd or even a bit weird, as this practice used to be the privilege of law enforcement officials in those less liberated places on this planet where prostitution is still completely illegal.

This local Antwerp hooker actually operates like your dentist or Doctor: if you don’t show up for an appointment she’s losing money, so instead of sending you a regular bill she found out that posting names/phone numbers of fake or no-show clients proved to be a real deterrent.

Quote: “Belgium’s privacy commission says that Hotmarijke is violating the Belgian privacy legislation and will investigate the matter if anybody makes a complaint.” ‘Hotmarijke’ could risk a 10,000 euros fine. Guess how many complaints were filed up to now. Right: none.

But the again: just take a look at this woman’s facial expression: even if you (God forbid) were to need a hooker, would you actually pick this woman? She looks likes she daily has a bucket full of lemons for breakfast. Time for a complaint What’s your take on this issue: who should be exposed: this sour-faced, money grabbing/law breaking Antwerp legal prostitute or her “poor” no-show clients”? It’s almost a moral dilemma, don’t you think so?

Unwanted Royal children: “10,000 ear-plugs and I can still hear your lie”

Were you a “wanted child”? Chances are you were, but some have not been that fortunate.

One of the most famous ones must be Delphine Boel, the illegitimate child of Albert II, the present king of Belgium. Born as the daughter of Barones Sybille de Selys Longchamps, she grew into an independent, outspoken young woman who managed to become a successful graphic artist and sculptor in London.
[Related: Delphine by lvb. Image credits: sky blogs]

But even after an 18y relationship (1966-1984) with the married Belgian king, her aristocratic mother deeply regrets how a Royal father who still loves his daughter born out of wedlock, prefers to protect his position by avoiding all contact with his own child.

Most painful.

Was your childhood sandwiched between the emotions of adults you were in no position to control? Often children raised by independent women grow into successful, strong personalities, proving to the world that they can make it, even with one parent missing. You may not be royal, but how do you feel about it?

Antwerp: the biggest ass in town

Great marketing, courtesy of the Antwerp Zoo: in case you can’t find the
entrance, just follow the huge wooden backsides of these elephants

The all new Antwerp High Speed Train link: stuck in traffic

Let me be upfront with you: I don’t like trains, especially the HST or high-speed variety. But last weekend saw the inauguration of the all new Antwerp Central train station, a 100 yo rare beauty that has been turned into a masterpiece of fast transport, so I couldn’t help but be curious. As expected, the final results beat all expectations: a super-fast line passing beneath the surface of this congested town, along with a stunning number of building sites changing the face of this town forever. Even the free rides were awesome. Take a look at my pictures: doesn’t it look festive?

It does, but often reality bites: Antwerp has put so much emphasis on claiming space for public transport that owning a car has become a nightmare. This ancient city never was build to accommodate the 100,000 commuter cars that daily cause gridlock on her surrounding 5 lane highways. While the happy few speed towards Paris and Amsterdam in the new airconditioned HST at 300 km/h, we, the locals, are trying to get to our shopping mall through the streets of a city that has long come to a grinding halt. I guess it’s a matter of knowing your priorities. Mine are a town build to accommodate the needs of its inhabitants, not the other way round. Time for a new political party: one that returns this city to its inhabitants instead of the building promoters. Care to give me a hand? There are national elections coming up

1,000 head Asuka II Japanese cruise liner moors alongside Antwerp cathedral

Antwerp has always been a popular tourist attraction. Given its wealth of historic landmarks conveniently located on a symbolic square kilometer near the riverbanks, this town has been pulling crowds for years. But being able to walk off your cruise liner straight into the historic heart of a city turned out to be a huge success story, although 9/11 caused most US vessels to ignore Antwerp, causing a near-end to the lucrative port of call business.

The arrival of of the the ASUKA II, a huge 1,000 passenger cruise liner from Yokohama, Japan on a 101 days around the world trip was a more than welcome event this Sunday. Welcoming rich Japanese who spent an absolute fortune on their world journey felt like the good old days were back. The passengers from the largest cruise ship currently in Japan, whose name was changed from Crystal Harmony, walked into town, bought their Belgian chocolates, made their countless photographs and left with a smile. While it’s good PR, I doubt whether Antwerp’s really can recover the losses sustained after 9/11. [ above: my Asuka II cruise liner images on a rainy Sunday, May 20, 2007]

“I will give you 40,000 blowjobs”: Antwerp politician outranks whitehouse.gov

Yes, it’s election time again in boring old Belgium. But hold on for a second, “boring”, “old”? No way, this year some candidates (along with their parties) have gone “all the way”, witnessed by the election promise of the “Nee” (”no”) party (we’re almost neighbours in Antwerp )

“NEE is an impartial protest movement running for senate in the Belgian elections of June 10th 2007. NEE works around political awareness and offers voters in Belgium the option to vote ‘NEE’ if they find that none of the parties deserve their vote. NEE votes would simply go to empty seats in parliament, resulting in a loss of income and power among the other parties and giving the voters the power to sanction politicians if needed.”

But then again, she promised “40,000 blowjobs”, didn’t she? Well, here they are: http://www.nee-antwerpen.be/index-eng.htm
Sex sells: as of today, Antwerp’s Tania has double the amount of page hits received on a daily basis by the White House site.

But forget the ‘blowjob’ (it’s just a teaser): “No” is a reaction to the simple fact that real voting options in this town/country have profoundly been reduced (in spite of +10 parties running for election). Tanja’s NEE(”No”) party is for real: they once called every landline in Antwerp (pop 1 million - I was one of them) to clarify that they really intended to take away votes from Belgian politicians who did not rightfully receive them. “Nee/No” will appear on the voting ballots next month, offering voters the option to vote ‘no’, which means that none of the parties get their vote. As more and more parties have started using “famous faces” (a Miss Belgium, sports figures, singers) tactics to pull votes and the associated cash, the democratic process has eroded beyond belief in this country.

Belgium (and Antwerp in particular) has a huge political problem: in order to stop the extreme right wing, coalition governments (who make pre-election deals) make it impossible to “really” choose a clear policy that will actually be carried through. To stop the extreme right wing, all parties in Antwerp have joined (and will continue to do so) in one monster coalition, so whoever you choose, nothing fundamental will change. Would you vote “Neen/No” to stop this weird system?

EXCLUSIVE: WATCH the post-election 40,000 blowjob performance!

“Japanese bikes will be crushed”

My Antwerp neighbours appear to dislike Japanese bikes, strange… [my photo: downtown Antwerp, May 2007]

“Perversion for profit” by citizens for decent literature

1960’s US government sponsored film. Currently, the USA is the largest producer of porn in the world. Should we laugh or should we cry?

A Christian break

It’s a public holiday (Ascension Day) in much of Europe (many take 4 days off), so like most people, I’m taking a break today. [My photo, shot last Sunday, May 13, 2007 : a small part of the Antwerp Conscience square, probably one of the most beautiful in this city]

On a US religious note after the death of Jerry Falwell (the father of faith-based war, faith-based law enforcement, faith-based education, faith-based medicine, and faith-based science): 39 percent of the American population describe themselves as born-again Christians (well, ok) but a frightening number also think angels hover about their shopping choices at Wal-Mart.
Fortunately I don’t belong to any religious Taliban, I’m an ex-Catholic, now predominantly liberated secularized Belgian

May 17th: The International Day Against Homophobia

[from Ilga.org, the International Lesbian and Gay Association, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium]

“The International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) on May 17th is a day for the promotion of respect for lesbians and gays worldwide. The day commemorates the date when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases.

There have been many advancements in gay and lesbian emancipation over the past decades. This is especially evident in our large western metropolitan areas. Gay Pride marches have become huge public festivals and there are high profile role models; gay mayors and pop stars are all over the place. One could be forgiven for thinking that everything is just fine. But look outside those metropolitan areas and you quickly discover that everything is not fine. Consider a small town teenager trying to come out, or the ongoing problem of discrimination in the workplace. Let’s face it, how many openly gay professional soccer players do you know? Further afield we must not forget or ignore the inhuman treatment of many gays and lesbians in countless countries. Is it right that we should we go vacationing in a country where the pool boy lives in permanent danger of imprisonment or ending up on the gallows?”

That last point has often made me wonder: many of the new EU countries (like Poland and Romania) are blatantly homophobic. In 75 countries being gay is still a crime. Many of these countries are popular tourist destinations. Several of them also blatantly abuse human rights. Should we spend our vacation cash supporting nations that show no respect for these basic human rights? Two women kissing on the tropical paradise of Barbados might end up in jail, for 15 years.. In nearby popular tourist hotspot Tunisia (just South of France), in Egypt and in most Muslim countries people are rotting away in jail for being gay, or for just voicing their opinion.

Most holiday makers couldn’t care less (”there are issues everywhere”), but if we really had any decency left, should we be spending our vacation cash in these countries? But if we didn’t, would it actually make even the slightest difference?

Live now: Antwerp Amnesty International concert

Running right now, almost in front of my door: the Antwerp Amnesty International concert with the Antwerp cathedral as a backdrop. Sometimes downtown living has its ‘limited benefits’. My first shots of the event (taken 6pm UTC+2):

If you would enjoy a video report, use Google or just post a comment - I’ll make sure you’ll receive it.

Video by Pink: Dear Mr President, “How do you sleep while the rest of us cry”

After 2 million views on YouTube, this song still says it all, doesn’t it. Dedicated to all made to suffer at the hands of the powers that be

Antwerp May 2006 racist murders commemorated

One year after after the tragic May 11th Antwerp racist murders that shocked the whole country last year, I passes by the spot where little 2 yo Luna and her black nanny were shot by a deranged right-wing extremist.

There were flowers, lit candles and the whole neighborhood had collected money for a small commemorative sidewalk stone, engraved with both their names. I avoided last Friday’s news-trucks, the bereaved family members and the crowds, waiting for a quieter moment.

In spite of the local outpour of sympathy and shock, 1 out of every 3 Antwerp citizens will vote for an extreme right wing party with visible anti-migrant roots at next months national elections. The city-wide “what’s in it for me” voters who don’t care about their neighbors. But “hate” should trouble us all. What’s wrong with Antwerp?

Is this city still in denial? I strongly doubt it

Your straight happiness won’t make me gay

I just closed the door on one of the weirdest weekends of 2007: the Brussels gay-pride, the 2007 Eurosong festival (on TV from Helsinki, Finland) and my very straight family celebrating my brother’s daughter’s 7th birthday with 29 (that’s right: almost 30..) expensive gifts. Totally insane and from and educational viewpoint a definite no-no. [my photograph: close relatives of mine. Notice they're not white.]

Anyway, while listening to endless stories about children growing up, life as a married couple and immersing tales on “living with children” I suddenly realized some of my relatives were only expecting me to unconditionally share their (straight) happiness, but appeared totally indifferent to the events in my (not so straight) life. “Empathy works both ways” appeared to be a concept that had totally eluded them. The same events often occur when you drop a straight single into a large number of families with children: soon most of these “families” conveniently forget that being single doesn’t mean “having no life worth paying attention to” and open the “family tales” floodgates.

I went home with a splitting headache (although I’m used to the 100 db noise level some 2 year olds manage to produce) and decided to return the favor: I will make sure to inundate some of my very straight family members with a never ending stream of stories about gay rights, along with lengthy accounts of my complex feelings, emotions and all the graphic details about my life as a gay single.

Watch how fast they will leave the room. Would you?

“Gays are terrorists” according to US Homeland Security

We Europeans knew that some US states harbored more then their fair share of certified nutcases, but in Libertarians are terrorists Alabama’s Dept of Homeland security has really lost touch with reality.

Gays, anti-war or pro-life individuals are labeled as  potential  “extremists”, well, just say it boys, anyone who’s not a gung-ho neo-conservative redneck must be a terrorist.

The excellent blogpost can be found at Chrisbrunner.com. The Alabama Department of Homeland Security quickly pulled the offending page, but the internet web archive effectively proves that a part of the Alabama administration really has lost touch with reality.

You know guys, Eli Lilly (a US “Homeland company”) makes some great anti-psychotic medication for the delusional and those who try to inflict that state of mind upon others.

Whoops: watch out: US psychotic threat level going pink again, pull your guns: terrorist gays are attacking the nation!

Stolen blog posts: are you a victim too?

The blogosphere is a complex entity: with over 100 million blogs posting countless numbers of entries, there are the inevitable classic rip-off artists, the cons, the “link farms, the “feeders” who only want to drive traffic to websites peddling porn or illegal content.

It’s perfectly acceptable to quote someone or even reproduce an entire article if the author has no objection or labels it with eg a CC tag (that’s what blogging is all about), but what about the ever increasing number of commercial harvesters that only copy-and-abuse countless non commercial, regular posts, surround them with “ads by Google” on their mega-site and cash in on someone else’s work?

Pressposts.com (ip-208-109-249-20.ip.secureserver.net /US host) is such a shady, lucrative commercial business, well hidden from prying eyes by anonymous registration, making it a work of labour to file a complaint. Virtually all my successful previous posts can be found commercially copied at Pressposts, along with countless articles from other wordpress blogs. I last posted a item on prostitution in Antwerp: here’s my original post, and here’s the unauthorized copy reproduced by pressposts. This is no longer “fair use”: pressposts.com is engaging in blatant commercial exploitation of millions of WordPress personal blog posts. But you actually need a subpoena to stop these well hidden, anonymous guys. Pressposts has specialized in ripping content from numerous legitimate WordPress blogs, but many commercial operations target the articles and blogs on other hosts.

Are your blog posts being copied too? If your content is also being hijacked, please post a comment here.

[Update: pressposts.com suddenly stopped showing 'Ads by Google". I guess they now pretend to run a commercial-free WordPress fansite based on "fair use" of someone's work: yours and mine. Sure pays the private hosting at Dreamhost.com]

My original post ripped by pressposts.com: notice the (now removed) “Ads by Google” above my content:

Sex, hard cash and legal prostitution: Villa Tinto and the real Queens of Antwerp

“No”, said the bored Antwerp police officer, “there’s basically nothing we can do if unknown drunken men on their way to the prostitution zone vandalize your property”. While the Antwerp Villa Tinto Mega brothel opening once promised a sanitized, safe, controlled and most profitable way of handling prostitution, the city of Antwerp almost completely ignored the people living between the hookers and Town hall - a 15 minute walk of shame. This area has been battling for years with the most unpleasant side effects of tolerated and now legalized prostitution: the customers who roam our streets at night. No matter how many security cams we install, our walls are still spray-canned and our property vandalized. In case of a non urgent incident it easily takes up to an hour for a police patrol to arrive. Budget cutbacks at night.

While it may seem great living in the historic heart of a medieval city, in the end legal prostitution (and more specifically, its customers and associated street criminals) doesn’t mix with peaceful living. Let’s face it: Antwerp has made a clear choice: it pockets millions in ‘prostitution tax’ and has sold out the historic downtown/riverbanks to the the tourist industry and, even more lucrative, to the powerful developers of countless upscale lofts/condo’s-for-the-rich. There are elections coming up in June. We won’t forget.

OK, now you’ve seen what legal prostitution looks like. Care for a place like this in your residential neighborhood?

Free: ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ DVD, courtesy of your polluting power supplier

Say, you’re a major European power supplier, dominating the Belgian market with power generated locally by nuclear plants and virtually none of it originating from local “green” or renewable power sources.

The French Suez group (owner of Electrabel in Belgium) faced up to this “inconvenient issue” by sponsoring the distribution of free DVD’s of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ on Tuesday in Belgian weekly Humo, along with a mindless “let’s all cut down our power consumption by 30%” campaign.

Time to laugh out loud or realize that for many companies, global warming is just an marketing item, just like the destructive system of pollution Credits trading?

Most “inconvenient”

Belgium’s youngest diver

We all had the greatest trouble keeping him away from the water

The Brussels Atomium: Going down in a blaze of glory

When the 103 m (335 feet) Brussels Atomium showed off its bright, all-renovated in/exterior to countless tourists

last weekend, it felt to me like the renovation had finally managed to strip this impressive tourist attraction of the one item it had always managed to preserve: its spirit. Ever since I climbed the Atomium’s +500 stairs as a small boy, that spirit of the 1958 world exposition had always been present. Be it in its unique exposition pieces showing a unshaken belief in the future, be it in its time-warp like expo rooms when the building needed urgent renovations after 45 years: it managed to capture and retain an nostalgic atmosphere recalling the time I was also one of these small boys, pointing my finger in adoration.

This was the first time I actually saw the inside results of the 2006 restoration. While the new Atomium is technically impressive (with amazing views and a completely revamped interior) the 1958 spirit had gone forever.

Anyway, the freaky +30d rainless April heatwave ended with a rained out barbecue during an eventful diving Sunday today in Holland.

I’ll post some diving/bbq photographs or a complete slide show as soon as I can find the time