Holiday

Tube strike in London, getting from the South to Kings Cross by buss turns out to be just a bit more of a mission. Did make it though, so now on holiday, at home.

If somebody wants to go for a jog or a drink, you've got my number.

If you haven't got my number that's too bad for you.

Radio

"This is LBC 97.3, London's biggest conversation"
http://www.lbc.co.uk/

Absolutely love this radio. Decent discussions with all parties. No 'hunt for one-liners'-rubbish self-proclaimed independent journalists in Belgium fill up the airwaves with. They often also have discussions with important politicians (fe Boris Johnson) whereby everybody is treated as equal and met with the same kind of skepticism from the presenter. Nice.


If you get the chance or want to work on you English, put this on during the morning hours (online). You'll get what I'm trying to say.


Take that 'deredactie'.

oh man

Had a gig today, set up the (small) system at Proud Camden. Next thing the promotor cancelled.

Was gonna have some hands on with the Yamaha LS9 tonight, bummer.

http://www.yamahaproaudio.com/products/mixers/ls9/

Backyard

Check out my backyard (the parc really):

(with a very keen eye you could make out the london eye, no pun intended)

Bought some bananas at the local market (I'll do a post on that one sometime), turned out to be plantains.. very nice when baked.

White

Got up this morning, snow is poring down like I've almost never seen before.
This is the kind of situation when London shuts down, completely.

The fact that everybody's traveling home to their families for Christmas isn't helping the situation much either.

Current weather forecast:
- light snow
- heavy snow x4
- light snow x 2
- clear sky
- mist.
Temperatures from -4 - 0 Celsius.

Traffic news:
- live road incidents: 31 roads
- live public transport incidents: 20 busses.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12025538

Hundreds of drivers spent much of the night stuck on the M6 in Greater Manchester, amid disruption on the roads, railways and airports.

Gatwick Airport shut its runway until 1500 GMT, and British Airways cancelled all Heathrow flights until 1700 GMT.

Heavy snow warnings are in place across the UK, with "very heavy" alerts for London, the Home Counties and Surrey.

BA advised all passengers on BA flights during times affected not to travel to Heathrow on Saturday, and warned of severe disruption at all London airports.

'Mayhem'

http://www.channel4.com/news/catch-up/display/playlistref/171210/clipid/171210_snow_pab


Yesterday I had my last day of term, we ended the day with a couple of drinks at 'the mucky pup', the college's favorite watering hole.
So today I'm at home, warm, inside. Nice. I kinda still like snow..

Naan

College Christmas party yesterday, day of for recup today.


Yesterday I prepared my naan bread on some theater lighting, but I've got no photos to prove it. Those things turn out to be almost as good heaters as they are lights. Some positioning and a grill from the freezer did the trick, nice.

I did manage to get to London Christmas-y pics though.

S now

Finally.
Cold but fun (for me anyway).
Survived tube strike without to much trouble, trip took 1hr as usual.


Recently recovered from the vault:
Construction site mains croque monsieurs by Miss S.

Also:
After some thought and persuasion decided to travel home for new year.

America

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/28/us-embassy-cable-leak-diplomacy-crisis

Oh boy.

Note: 24pm, I've beaten 'deredactie.be'. They hasn't posted anything yet. BBC and other majors have ofcourse.


Also,
Tomorrow tube strike, have to get to center of London by 10am. Packing reading material and required music.

The fellows

A link I must have missed previously:

http://www.myspace.com/rockofellows
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/THE-FELLOWS/111363774044
Now that's funny, finding yourself being mentioned in an article.

All is well, doing a lot of reading these days. But also, talking with people about what to do next.

The live sound course

So I was thinking about how to write something about what goes on in the current course.
Next thing you know, alchemea posts this video online as to make my life too easy:

Alchemea Live Audio Diploma moves to the Village Underground from Alchemea Audio College on Vimeo.

Don't try to spot me, I'm not in the clip as it was shot when the class was divided into 2 groups.
Still, Darryn and Marcel (from Holland :), unmistakable accent), are in it, they are the people who keep the course together. Nice folks.

(-this post was written very late/early in the morning, spelling mistakes will be taken out tomorrow-)

Music?

Sometimes it's all about the music.
Most of the times it isn't,
But sometimes it really is.

(to be played LouD)




Side note:
Thanks for the beer and biscuit smuggled past the UK border.

the uselessness

the uselessness' latest rehearsal recording.
Mix still a bit rough but usable.

BeautifullGirl Nuttelozen v2 by JudasProost

Available for download to get your day started on a bright note!

Belgium

I've given up on trying to explain the current situation in Belgium without using this clip in proper "hitchhikers' guide to the universe"-style.



Even for me it's hard to keep track of what's actually going on. Outside of Belgium nobody seems to know about the Belgian crisis.

http://blog.katania.be/2010/10/the-breakup-of-belgium/

Going on

To give an idea of stuff going on.
F.e the last few days:

• Sunday: 9am-5pm monitors lecture + practice at the Village Underground (north London)

• Monday: 9am-5pm monitors practical live band at the Village Underground, 8.30pm-late going out to see 'climate chaos in the south' with L at the Austrian Cultural forum (west London). www.climatechaos.be, nice but not super.
  

• Tuesday: 9am-5pm 'putting is all together' at Islington (Angel), 7 pm-late going out to see 'Flanders remembers concert' at the Royal hospital chapel with posh reception afterwards (Chelsea). String quartet + singers + a lot of Flemish people.
  
• Wednesday: 9am-4pm 'faultfinding' at Islington (Angel). 6pm-late Work experience at Alexandra palace with AbbyRoad liveherenow (have had better ones before)
• Thursday: visitors! from Belgium the Haa! Bringing adapters, beer and ginger bread! Spend the whole day running 'round London like mad men (Baker St, Camden, pub, f&c at Islington, Thames South bank walk, Brixton..), rather tiring.
  
• Friday: getting up early to go and have a walk at Hyde park with Mr and Ms C. Getting lost in the park. Rushing into practice time at Alchemea, rushing on to do work experience at The jamm in Brixton 'till late. We got thrown in, had to build the PA and mix 2 bands all by ourselves, Very stressful but worthwile.
  

• Today: Getting up early for practice session at Islington, grocery shopping, getting home and crashing on the couch. Watching TV and writing blog..
• Tomorrow: ....rest?...

It's not always like this, but overall pretty busy. You know when sometimes it all seems to be relentless and you can barely remember what you did the day before but you know you had a good time?

Next time I'll try for more details and less boring listings. I have to get the camera up and running again as well because this macbook thing isn't up to scratch.

Reboot

___________________________________________
End of blog part I
___________________________________________

Update

To keep things short:

It's all OK, but I'm Really busy.
A lot of juggling, still finding my feet: full schooldays, cooking, new flat, new area, people to visit, tons of books to read, school stuff to do, work experiences, guitar, mixing, jogging.

Myes.

Preparing yet again!

This Friday I'm leaving for the big smoke!

Preparing to do things right, big plans, small plans, exercise plans, the works.

We'll see, fingers crossed.

Update

Preparing for move-out,
preparing for storing my stuff,
preparing for playing music,
preparing for final theoretical at alchemea,
done final practical at alchemea (78%! on the euphonix CS300 + tape + pro tools),
preparing final alchemea assignments (2 down, 2 to finish),
preparing summer job (learning C++... oh my),
preparing lunch,
preparing gigs for the fellows,
preparing to pass on my flat,
preparing..


I'm in a preparing state of mind really.
So much things to do, time seems a hard thing to get a grip on.

Wind down

A few days ago, sunbathing behind the flat. 9/10 not a problem, ofcourse, there's always the odd one.

Intensive weekend: session 'till 7am (mixing), visiting taste of Spain in London the next day, in the studio 'till 5am. Today: recup.

When's the last time you saw a sunrise when you got back from college?

Today, my last flatmate W left for New York for two weeks. Place to myself

That day on the Thames

Every now and than, everything seems to cluster together: practical session 'till 7am the previous day, tons of mail to answer, city trip at 1pm, people who seem to have agreed on all talking to you at exactly the same time, laundry, dishes piling up, things to arrange.. luckily it's all good fun really.

Today, on the Thames, visited the HMS Belfast (comissioned 1939's). Always have had kind of fond memories of this vessel, for youthful miniaturistic reasons.

(the correct one Pp?)

(on board pharmacy)

(bite the bullet)

Earlier trip, Buckingham P. on a stereotypical cloudy day.



In the studio with GuilioDJ (on the euphonics CS3000) the person who embodies everything that disco music represents. Good laughs while trying to mix a fellows multitrack.


Home made brew.


Station Court, less than 4 weeks and counting.. !

Internship-ing

My plans for the summer:

http://www.motormusic.eu/

If all goes well I'll be helping these guys out, they are gonna be moving there studio.

Electronic systems, wires, moving, rearranging... It's like an ultimate playground for me.

Joy.

Summer

Might have found myself a summer occupation!
Hopefully more on that later.

For now I'll let you enjoy the sight of my latest organic-burger creation, lovely.


Also,
hopefully nobody missed out on this

Meanwhile in the post production studio:

Don't get me wrong, in real live, I don't think it's all about those moving faders. But when making a video.. you have to admit.

Summer switch

Somebody seems to have flicked a 'summer switch' for the area around London! Nice.


It's peculiar, everybody has there own personal 'heavens', not meant in any deistic way, rather the einsteinian view. Simple things. Some examples, personally:

- playing a well-rehearsed gig with a band
- working (hard) with friends to make something happen that people appreciate (ex camp site werchter c3, chiro, pant-less-rock)
- seeing people go crazy over music when you hold the controls
- going jogging with people and just talk
- doing something you don't usually do, even better, convince other people to do something they don't usually do
- having a drink at a place where people know you and you know the people
- just going for a walk
- having an in-dept discussion an coming to a conclusion
- sitting outside in the summer, but in the shade
- writing something that says it all
- making a complex (audio-)system work, just for one day, just at one place
- putting time and effort in something, being pushed, exceeding what you thought was possible and having a physical result.
- cooking with/for people
- going away for the week-end
- dumdumdum..

It's remarkable how these things are almost never about money (you need it though).
Now, how to distill this..


(Try it for yourself, rather revealing )




On other unrelated news: my first flatmate moved out due to a bad exam, he's gonna try again next year.. Too bad, he studied very hard, got up early every morning, went to bed early every evening. Hope I'll see him around sometimes.


(Watching 'Capitalism: a love story', a bit over the top M Moore, but what an insight)

Antiangiogenics

Awesome.
an-ti-an-gi-o-ge-nics

As amazing today as when I first saw it during the live-stream. I hope he has it the right way 'round.

William Li: Can we eat to starve cancer?

Heaven and Hell

Today Mr. B told me about the loss of a singer who's voice can be described as one of the most powerfull in the history of early metal. He was still going strong, as a live performer and as an inspiration, whenever you needed some motivation/inspiration/believe, until today that is.



To be played at Maximum volume
(HQ version)
12 I by proosttom



We'll miss him

Got it!

Managed to get hold of my parcel!

Finally was able to get the Sennheiers HD-25 II. Amazing, like removing a pillow from in front of your speakers (or headphones in my case), like putting on glasses but for sound. No more philips SHP2500! Lovely. Lovely. Lovely.
Also, all-out on food:

(spinache & tuna)

(shrimp stir fry)

(marinated chicken & couscous)
note: don't drink water after couscous like I did.

It's strange how I learned to eat stuff in the UK that I never used to try back in Belgium (shrimps, figs, curries, asparagus, mussels come to mind). (Also, I figured it out: don't buy crap -> don't eat crap)

Never smoothly

That's the thing around here you know, things Never go smoothly.



Current example:

- I order something by mail, parcel package. 24-hour delivery, with tracking number.
- Mail man comes down to station court, doesn't have the key for the outer gate. Rings my flat via the communication system. I'm out, my flatmate answers.
- Mail man says he has a parcel for me, asks if my flatmate could come and open the door (remote key is broken).
- Flatmate says she'll come down to let him in. By the time she's at the gate the mail man will have left without a trace.
- I check my delivery online, see it should have been delivered, but I wasn't home so they left a 'you where out' card so I can come and pick it up at the local recollection office.
- Now, I've never had any 'you where out' card. Why not? Because the mail man leaves them at the outer gate, not the inner gate, not my block door, not my post box. The outer gate. Hundreds of people pass there every hour, wind, weather. Any card left there will be gone in a matter of hours.
- I ring costumer services, explain, they tell me to go and collect it using my tracking number, ID and proof of adress.
- I walk down the office, just to be told I really need a 'you where out' card. I get a new phone number to ring.
- Go back home, call another sorting center and explain everything. Again.
- After some convincing the guy at the center gets my situation. He will send me a 'you where out' card by mail..

- Now I just have to wait for my mail to come in, take the card, ID and what not. Go to the collection center again and hopefully collect my parcel. If everything goes to plan that is..

This kind of thing happens about every time I get a parcel in the mail. It could be so easy. But instead of receiving it I have to go out and actually hunt down every parcel I should get (that is, if I know I should get one. If I don't I will probably never find out) which takes days.



Same thing with credit cards, direct debits, oyster student cards, flat payments, buying a cell phone, setting up an account, getting an NIN, you name it.
This English bureaucracy, tiring

Powerfull beyond measure

Around the interwebs

• This is as sexy and exciting as it gets in the (geeky) world of electronics.

• Some wisdom spoken by Rocky and others. Seems a bit over the top, but there's truth in it.

Multi-track RnR

I'm not completely happy with it myself, a bit rough on the edges, but well..
Singing and some keyboards done by the alchemea crew and GuilioDJ from Austria. One of the most 'disco' people I know.

Another of my alchemea assignments:


RocknRoll part alchemea by JudasProost
My take on 'Rock n Roll part 2 by garry glitter'

Plans

Ever made one of these?
Scary, I can tell you.

Sinister weekend

Strange weekend, not in any tangible way really, but still.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8671805.stm
(that's where I go jogging)

Yesterday a person in front of the trains at Angel station (a hundred people saw it)
(that's the closest tube station from my college)


Metropolis for you.

Lessons learned in London part XXIV...

-Don't go jogging without checking your oyster card-

Went and got stuck at the gates at seven sisters station. This is quite unlikely, first, my monthly travelcard must have ran out, secondly the leftover top-up on my oyster also must have ran out. All this in between the 1 stop from my flat to the park. Anyway, I had to take the tube back and jog my way home from Finsbury park.. quite a long jog all together.

Part 4

Recently I've entered part 4 of my course, as in 4 being the last part. It's not that I'll be leaving soon because I still have a second three month course waiting for me in September. But still, it's a strange thing to witness time passing by. This course ends end June, not really sure what's exactly gonna happen the months after..

On a minor note: I've managed to lose my jacket. I never-ever part from it because it contains the stuff that I really need, all contained in a little pocket robbers wouldn't find. It all seemed to be a sound plan I had going on until I forgot my jacket on the fence outside of college for a couple of minutes.. gone. Also gone: £15, ID card, credit card, keys to my flat.. you can imagine the things I wished upon myself the following hours.
It took me 2 hours to get into the flat, next I went through the hassle of blocking everything etc.
All done now, too bad I lost the jacket though, it was my favorite.


The fellows have come and are gone again. We had a nice recording session on Friday (until 5am), a good gig on Saturday (though they where pretty tired) an a lesser gig on Sunday. All in all, it's been a satisfying weekend. Photos should follow shortly.

In the meantime, I only have photos of me and W making Jamy Oliver's tomato pasta with meatballs (just like in the movies I'd say). Very nice.

Fellows

Next weekend the months I spend mailing/planning/calling every venue in town will finally result in a coherent event (at least I hope so). So without further ado, Proost Productions and The Fellows present:Will be completed with a recording session on Friday night, nice to catch 2 birds at once.

Full House

I finally battled of the ants and regained control over most of the territory including my laptop..
Actually, I've just been a bit busy, that's all.

I finally got to see some familiar Belgian faces! (After last's week family visits)

(first impressions)
(fitting four people in the common room)

(in the UK, breakfast is something to be taken serious)

That's about it on photos, we had more, but a camera got lost.. actually I'm going to search for it in china town London as we speak. It was great fun, there was a lot of English-speaking going on, something which my flatmates greatly appreciated. As always, over in a flash.
We had a 5 (!) hour pizza 'session' on Sunday, very nice, but a bit on the long side.
Pictures from a previous pizza evening:

(first)

(second)

(dessert, you have not really lived before you've tried this I'd say.. Brazilian dessert-pizza. Needless to say, Italians would kill me)

(excess dough -> bread)

Followed by a day almost without any food, for obvious reasons.


Also, got access to the post production room with the Icon desk and pro tools HD.

(anything you'd want more, really?)

Update: no camera to be found

Ants

ants

Ants!

Four Years. Go.

Please do me (and everybody else) a favor and visit
www.fouryearsgo.org

When you have a goal, you should really focus on it, go for it, do whatever it takes. You should go for it, the only way you can be stopped is when you die. It's that simple.

Now, what if you don't know what your goal is? How many people have a goal, need a goal? Do you need a goal? What is your goal? Is the net end-result always the same? 1/3-of-a-life crisis of some sort :)




I have the place to myself for a whole week (!), if the train of thoughts continues as it is..

Suspended animation

'animals de-animating, appearing death, while later being able to wake up again without being harmed'

Fiction? Nope.

Internet

It's funny when the internet connection shuts down.
You reconsider the amount of time you spend online. But also, you end up making way to healthy and complicated food with flatmates.


Of course, compensation is never far off. Fish & Chips. Often awful, sometimes amazing.

Recording Jack Green

I had to do a live recording (no editing/mixing afterwards!) down to stereo for an assignment. I got hold of Jack Green, a London band. Some pictures.

The band hadn't slept for 24 hours, dealing with
artists, not always the easiest thing.

(the usual mess)




(SSL-G Series, amazing)

The result:
If love comes calling - Jack Green by JudasProost
The bass should be a bit fuller, but quite pleased with my first 'live-recording'.