Wednesday, July 30, 2008

The female brain


Hi guys,

I found this funny intermezzo about "the female brain". This of course might be an over-exageration of a painful reality and probably doesn't cover the super intellectual female readership of my blog. But nonetheless in every caricature there is a kernel of truth :)

Take care,

Michel

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Return of the king :)

Hi Guys,

Just to let you know ... I'm back from the hospital! I hope to write a new blog item asap.

Take care,

Michel

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Get a six pack you can't buy in the shops!


A lot of people these days suffer from a (small or larger) protruding stomach with love handles to match. In Flanders we call this protruding stomach: "een buikje" (a small stomach) and love handles, they get called a quite rude "neuk teugels" (litt. fuck handels?!?) . Some find it "cute" but healthy is something else. Causes are: too little exercise, a poor diet and often stress. Follow my tips and you will be rid of that protuberant mass in a jiffy.

* Eat healthy and balanced:

A. Eat lots of vegetables and fruit so you get your daily dose of vitamins and fibers. Fibres are indispensable for the proper functioning of the intestines!

B. Avoid fatty foods. They make you gain weight very quickly and it upsets your whole intestinal functioning , which causes a bloated feeling.

C. Opt for sustainable sugars. Pasta, bread and potatoes give you a longlasting and full feeling so you don't have to commit hold-ups on your fridge every few hours.

* Eat slowly and chew your food well: it will benefit your digestive system.

* Avoid bubbles in your drinks. Fizzy drinks provide as many bubbles in your intestines as in your glass and that gives you a bloated stomach full of air and cramps…

* Avoid snacking so your digestive system can "breathe" once in a while.

* Don't use too much salt. Up to a limited amount, salt is necessary in our body for the vital biological reactions. More than this requirement, salt creates your body cells to swell, that is so called cellulitis. Cell edema is the accumulation of salt and water which increases your bodyweight. Just take all salts away from your table. You will be receiving the necessary salts through your daily helpings of fruits and vegetables the most. Salt is also bad for your cholesterol, all the more reason to reduce its use.

* Avoid stress and make sure you can relax at the dinnertable. Eat in a quiet environment, certainly not in front of the television or whilst doing something else. Your intestines will protest considerably less.

* Drink as much water as possible. At least a litre and a half a day, preferably not during meals. Are you a juices fan? Bad news: you should better not drink too many, the high acidity unsettles the bowels.

* Reduce your milk intake: milk doesn't digest easily and often weighs heavily on the stomach.

* MOVE! Endurance sports burn lots of calories, moreover they optimize your digestion, a flat stomach guaranteed! My top 3 sports are:

A. Running: it's easy to lose weight and your lovehandles will melt like butter in the Californian sun. Additionaly you will unconsciously work out your abdominal muscles.

B. Rowing: you don't always need to row on a beautiful lake, you can do it at your local gym: abdominal muscles guaranteed, moreover you'll train your arm muscles, on top of that it burns calories very fast.

C. Swimming: in particular the "crawl" stroke ensures oblique abdominal muscles. In addition through the resistance of the water you'll get muscles much faster than on dry land.


* Abdominal muscle training: an absolute must! Do 3 sets of 20 exercises every day: normal and oblique abdominals sessions. Are you tired of the traditional abdominals sessions? Try the kinesis wall in the gym, join a "abdo" grouplesson or use the powerplate for quick results.

Check your local gym for all the possibilities. :)

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Земфира - СПИД (Zemfira - AIDS)




Земфира Талгатовна Рамазанова (Zemfira Talgatovna Ramazanova) was born on the 26th August 1976 in Ufa (south of Ekaterinburg). She is the leader and lead vocalist of the Russian band "Земфира" (Zemfira). The group was formed in 1998 and has been immensely popular in Russia and other former Soviet republics. Multiple Russian tabloids had speculated about the singer’s sexual orientation, drawing largely on references found in her song lyrics, and for the last couple of years romantically linking her with actress, director and screenwriter Renata Litvinova. The singer herself never discussed her private life.

Lyrics:

Я сняла наушники слушала ветер
В открытые двери пустой маршрутки
Ветер рассказал мне о страшном секрете:
Нам остаются последние сутки

А у тебя СПИД
И значит мы умрём
У тебя СПИД
И значит мы умрём.
Но у тебя СПИД
И значит мы умрём.
Но у тебя: И значит мы:

Будем глотать в больнице лекарства
Не думать про завтра не включать телевизор
На карте искать тридесятое царство
А вдруг повезёт и достанутся визы

Но у тебя СПИД
И значит мы умрём
У тебя СПИД
И значит мы умрём
А у тебя СПИД
И значит мы умрём
А у тебя: И значит мы:

Не рассчитались с долгами свинтили
До скорого мамы ключи у соседки
Я дула на веки пока не остыли
И плакали ивы, и ставили метки
Не видел ленивый в газете заметки
Что

А у тебя СПИД
И мы далеко
Но у тебя СПИД
И мы далеко
Но у тебя СПИД
И мы далеко.
Но у тебя: И значит мы:

Translation:

I took off the headphones
Was listening to the wind
In the open doors
Of an empty shuttle van
The wind told me a terrifying secret:
We only have the last twenty-four hours

And you have AIDS
And that means we will die
You have AIDS
And that means we will die
But you have AIDS
And that means we will die
But you have…And that means we…

We will swallow
Medications in the hospital
We will not think about tomorrow
We will not turn on the television
We will search for the fairytale kingdom on the map
In case we are lucky and can get visas

But you have AIDS
And that means we will die
You have AIDS
And that means we will die
But you have AIDS
And that means we will die
But you have…And that means we…

We couldn't return the loans
And left
See you later, mothers
The neighbors have the keys
I was blowing on the eyelids while they were still warm
And the willows were weeping, and were leaving the marks
Only the lazy did not see the article in the paper
That

You have AIDS
And we are far away
But you have AIDS
And we are far away
But you have AIDS
And we are far away
But you have…And that means we…

http://www.zemfira.ru/

Murderer Anna Politkovskaja possibly hiding in Belgium

MOSCOW - The murderer of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya is hidden somewhere in Western Europe according to the chairman of the inquiry commission of the Russian prosecutor, Alexander Bastrykin. A Russian radio station believes that the murderer is hiding in Belgium. According to the press agency Interfax, the Russian prosecutor requested judicial assistance from various Western European countries, including Belgium.

"According to our information, the murderer is hiding in Western Europe, we even know in which country," said Bastrykin without further going into details during a seminar in Saint Petersburg according to the press agency Interfax.

Radio Echo in Moscow reported that the suspected killer is staying in Belgium and that Russia "has already submitted a request for his extradition." A journalist from that radiochannel said that the information was obtained from a judicial source.

Anna Politkovskaya, one of the rare (Russian) journalists who has denounced human rights abuses in Russia, particularly in Chechnya, was killed on the 7th of October 2006 in the hall of her apartment building in Moscow.

So far three people have officially been indicted for the murder of the Russian journalist, the Russian prosecutor stated on the 18th of June after concluding the investigation. Their names are Sergei Chadjikurbanov and two Chechnyan brothers Djabraïl and Ibragim Machmudov.

Human rights organisations regularly complain about the lack of zeal of the Russian authorities regarding investigations into the killings of journalists who's numbers have increased exponentially since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

RussianDragon

Source: afp,Interfax