Korea is hot!

Today I learned that everything Korean is hot in Thailand; Korean food (kimchi mmm), funky clothes (and nice hairdo's) and of course, Korean music is the bomb here. This was nicely illustrated when we stumbled upon a crowd of screaming Thai girls this afternoon. Apparently Korean boyband Super Junior was performing, heavily sponsored by a Thai brand for talc powder. The skytrain station was packed as was the big square in front of Siam Paragon mall.



While we were having dinner nearby, girls came running past - yelling, with their camera's ready. Since I hardly ever see Thai running (a sign at the skytrain entrance actually tells you not to run for the train), it was quite an experience.


Super Junior

This song below has been haunting me everywhere. And guess what? It's Korean too!


Wonder girls

Back in Bangkok

After another ten hour trip with little entertainment from KLM (I'm still reading 'What's the what' and spent my time writing, sleeping and listening to music), I arrived in Bangkok. Nothing changed. The streets are full of cars, the heat is all encompassing and the food smells amazing as ever. Must say that my hotel room is very nice - hopefully it will enable me to perform optimally during my three-day visit here. My view:

Ain't nobody but Chaka

Well, there's not much I can say, but damn.. can she sing! Another thing I can cross off my wish list!

Dutch music rocks too!

When I say something about music on this blog, it's always about some artist from a far away country that come to play for the Dutch crowd. But actually, we Dutch folks have some pretty good bands ourselves!
At Paradiso on the 23rd of December, I danced the evening away during the Kraak & Smaak concert (thanks, Daph!). And last weekend in Leiden, I got to enjoy Zuco 103, Gare Du Nord, the Young Sinatra's and Candy Dulfer. Funky stuff - for the record...


Kraak & Smaak


Zuco 103


Candy Dulfer

My Romeo

I am a groupie, and a proud one. My very own 'little' brother, Lennart, starred as Romeo in Shakespeare's famous play last weekend. Of course, I was gleaming with pride! Not only is he a great singer, he can act! And, he even persuaded the directors to allow for one song (as this was not supposed to become a musical). They made him sing in Italian, which he did marvelously. Naturally, the image quality of my recordings is not perfect, but (especially in the last two) it's the sound that counts. I'm already looking forward to next year! And, do check out the X-factor: Lennart auditioned and we have reason to believe his story will get some airtime...

The famous scene; Romeo, oh Romeo, Wherefor art thou Romeo?
"Jij mag me opeten, alleen jij! Ik wil alleen door jou opgepeuzeld worden, Julia!"



Strani Amori

Cat person

Yes, I will not lie about it: I am a cat person. I love cats, and I love them more than I love dogs... Dogs are faithful and watchful, true. But then again, they are also smelly and they have the tendency to bark and lick you. Those are definite cons for me. Cats however are soft and lazy and love the luxurious life. I like that; they honestly don't care who takes care of them, who gives them all their love - as long as they keep on receiving. If you're lucky, they just might give you some love in return.

When I was growing up, we had two Persian cats. Aga Khan, was the grey one, who lived longest and Djenghis Khan (yeah, my mom gave them these names) was black and my favorite. He'd always try to stick close to me and sit on top of me in the most uncomfortable position...

A brief search on 'cat people versus dog people leads to some interesting website, where people ask questions such as: "Why are cat people usually smarter than dog people?". I'll not get into such discussions here. Instead I wanted to show you a clip of a dog who recently became a hero in Chili. And just to keep things balanced, I'm adding the picture of Dante, this beautiful cat, I met on the train from Amsterdam to Leiden.

Munir & Muchdi

The New Year does not start as it should have for those seeking justice for Munir; Muchdi was acquitted due to lack of evidence. The struggle thus continues in 2009!
Read more here

Munir's wife, Suciwati, looks at the statue made of her late husband