This is the in-depth Dutch review of the Symphonica concert in Herning on August 29. The English review is over here, it is somewhat shorter but well, in English.
Wat een fantastische avond! Het was geweldig en zo intens en emotioneel. Ik had eigenlijk niet verwacht dat George Michael al zo vroeg in de tour al zo onvoorstelbaar zou schitteren. Het zou niet gek zijn geweest als hij na jaren van rust (die 3 optredens in Australië kun je nauwelijks meetellen, toch) weer een beetje op gang had moeten komen. Maar nee hoor, op volle snelheid uit de startblokken. Heel knap, je kan merken dat die jaren van 25Live nu gewoon in zijn lichaamsgeheugen opgeslagen zijn.
We hadden een ongelooflijk goed plekje, derde rij, precies in het midden van het podium. George zat echt recht vóór ons op een paar meter afstand. Onvoorstelbaar. We zaten zo dichtbij dat we hem dwars door de onvermijdelijke zonnebril heen in de ogen konden kijken. We konden het echt zien als hij geëmotioneerd was, en dat gebeurde een paar keer. We hebben zijn tranen gezien maar gelukkig ook veelvuldig die heerlijke, brede lach.
Ik denk dat hij al met al een goede avond heeft gehad - het publiek droeg hem, zoals gebruikelijk in Denemarken, op handen en zijn stem was fenomenaal goed. Qua energie vond ik dit concert vergelijkbaar met de tweede avond van de Final Two, zo bijzonder was het. Qua emotie vond ik het ongeëvenaard, ik heb dit niet eerder meegemaakt.
Hij ziet er goed uit. Hij is momenteel heel slank, maar niet zo uitgeteerd mager als aan het eind van 25Live. Toen kreeg je het gevoel dat hij wellicht niet zo goed voor zichzelf zorgde, dat is nu niet zo. Hij is heel beweeglijk op het podium, danst ook vaak tijdens de nummers. Maakt ook bijzonder goed contact met het publiek, dat is echt één van zijn sterke punten. En afgezien van een slippertje tijdens Freedom was hij gisteren zo goed als tekstvast. Er waren wel twee zeer discreet opgestelde auto-cues maar ik heb hem er zelfs niet naar zien kijken. Ik denk echt dat hij een ander mens is geworden door hoe hij nu in het leven staat.
De rest van de review - met spoilers - kun je lezen na de jump.
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Symphonica Tour: Gig Report (Herning, August 29 2011)
Almost three years to the day (August 30, 2008) I saw George Michael perform live for the very last time - or so we thought at the time. As luck would have it, this was also in Denmark (they worship him over there). It was a great concert, a fitting goodbye to 25Live.
And now, three years on, George Michael is back in front of a Danish audience.
This show couldn't be more different from 25Live. George Michael has reinvented himself once again as a performer.
But no matter what he does, whether he's accompanied by a single guitarist, a 15-piece band or a whole symphonic orchestra, one thing remains constant: he's George Michael. And George Michael equals perfection. Nothing else will do.
One sentence review: He's back and he is better than ever!
Please read on for more details of the night (with spoilers). If you prefer to read the Dutch in-depth review, you can find that here.
And now, three years on, George Michael is back in front of a Danish audience.
This show couldn't be more different from 25Live. George Michael has reinvented himself once again as a performer.
But no matter what he does, whether he's accompanied by a single guitarist, a 15-piece band or a whole symphonic orchestra, one thing remains constant: he's George Michael. And George Michael equals perfection. Nothing else will do.
One sentence review: He's back and he is better than ever!
Please read on for more details of the night (with spoilers). If you prefer to read the Dutch in-depth review, you can find that here.
Sunday, 28 August 2011
Celebrating 25Live - Gig Report Copenhagen (August 31, 2008)
For the Dutch Planet George Forum I wrote 10 in-depth gig reports. Here is the gig report for the last night of 25Live in 2008 - or so we thought at the time. He would do one more show in IIRc Dubai a few months later and in 2010 he did 3 more stand-alone shows in Australia.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2008.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2008.
Celebrating 25Live - Gig Report London (August 25, 2008)
For the Dutch Planet George Forum I wrote 10 in-depth gig reports. Here is the gig report for the second night of the two shows that together were known as the Final Two. It was a fantastic night, everything just clicked. The crowd was great, and George was incredible. I'm so grateful that this night was filmed for the brilliant DVD George Michael Live in London.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2008.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2008.
Celebrating 25Live - Gig Report London (August 24, 2008)
For the Dutch Planet George Forum I wrote 10 in-depth gig reports. Here is the gig report for the first of the two concerts that together were know as Final Two. It was George's first concert in his hometown London for more than a year. He was very glad to be home but a bit subdued, perhaps because of the cameras that were filming the concert for a DVD.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2008.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2008.
Celebrating 25Live - Gig Report Washington (July 29, 2008)
For the Dutch Planet George Forum I wrote 10 in-depth gig reports. Here is the gig report for the excellent 25Live concert in Washington, July 2008. It was a fantastic night, George was obviously very happy with the way things were going for him in the US.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2008.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2008.
Celebrating 25Live - Gig Report New York (July 23, 2008)
For the Dutch Planet George Forum I wrote 10 in-depth gig reports. Here is the gig report for the second of two 25Live concerts in New York (Madison Square Garden) in July 2008. It was a terrific night, with 4 encores! George was having a great time!
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2008.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2008.
Celebrating 25Live - Gig Report New York (July 21, 2008)
For the Dutch Planet George Forum I wrote 10 in-depth gig reports. Here is the gig report for the first of two 25Live concerts in New York (Madison Square Garden) in July 2008. It was a terrific night, George confessed during the show that he'd hardly slept because of nerves. Being sleep-deprived made him quite talkative!
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2008.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2008.
Celebrating 25Live - Gig Report Belfast (August 4, 2007)
For the Dutch Planet George Forum I wrote 10 in-depth gig reports. Here is the gig report for the last 25Live concert of 2007 in Belfast in August 2007. It was a unforgettable night, George had a terrific time loving all the love from the audience.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2007.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2007.
Celebrating 25Live - Gig Report Dublin (August 2, 2007)
For the Dutch Planet George Forum I wrote 10 in-depth gig reports. Here is the gig report for the second of the two 25Live concerts in Dublin in August 2007. It was a great night, George was a little bit tired because they'd had a crew party the night before. But he and the band and the backing singers still gave their all! We queued for a whole day (and part of the night) to get a front row spot and it was all worth it.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2007.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2007.
Celebrating 25Live - Gig Report Dublin (August 1, 2007)
For the Dutch Planet George Forum I wrote 10 in-depth gig reports. Here is the gig report for the first of the two 25Live concerts in Dublin in August 2007. It was a terrific night, George gave an outstanding vocal performance! We queued for a whole day to get a front row spot and it was all worth it.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2007.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2007.
Celebrating 25Live - Gig Report Vienna (July 13 2007)
For the Dutch Planet George Forum I wrote 10 long gig reports. Here is the gig report for the 25Live concert in Vienna in July 2007. It was a wonderful night, George had fun! The Viennese audience was extremely loud and enthusiastic.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2007.
Please read on for the in-depth review (in Dutch). Don't speak Dutch? You might want to take a look at my 25Live review of 2007.
Celebrating 25Live - part 3 (2008)
In 2008 the long awaited American Tour finally happened. And we were there! We’d always wanted to visit America, so we were happy to plan our holiday around George Michael’s tour dates in 2 big cities: New York and Washington. We were far less happy with the dates of the tour, smack in the middle of July, one of the hottest months of the year. I’ve never been so hot! And I've been to Nigeria, not exactly a cold spot.
But in the end it was all worth it. George gave three fine performances, clearly very happy to be back in the land of his worst tour experience (Faith Tour). This time around he had a great time! And we did too!
2008: showman George
In 2008 George Michael had evolved again into a real showman. His voice was getting better and better. His dance moves got more exuberant and certainly more sexy. He also got much better at talking to the crowds, some nights the problem was getting him to shut up!
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| The GM trucks outside the venue in Washington |
2008: showman George
In 2008 George Michael had evolved again into a real showman. His voice was getting better and better. His dance moves got more exuberant and certainly more sexy. He also got much better at talking to the crowds, some nights the problem was getting him to shut up!
There were significant changes to the setlist. George's American audience had sort of lost track of him after Faith, so this new setlist was heavy on the Faith stuff.
Also he put mixes in there, a big surprise for me. Loved it, some of my favourite mixes were in there (Spinning the Wheel, Fastlove, I’m your man). He also sang Feeling Good, a Nina Simone cover. He’d recorded this song for the series finale of tv-show Eli Stone.
And to my utter delight One More Try was added to the setlist. The Gospel Version! I’ve always said George should do a gospel album, he’s got just such a beautiful voice for that kind of music. Well, a girl can dream.
Also he put mixes in there, a big surprise for me. Loved it, some of my favourite mixes were in there (Spinning the Wheel, Fastlove, I’m your man). He also sang Feeling Good, a Nina Simone cover. He’d recorded this song for the series finale of tv-show Eli Stone.
And to my utter delight One More Try was added to the setlist. The Gospel Version! I’ve always said George should do a gospel album, he’s got just such a beautiful voice for that kind of music. Well, a girl can dream.
Wanna see what shows I went to in 2008 and how very good George was? Please read on for 6 mini-reviews.
Saturday, 27 August 2011
Celebrating 25Live - part 2 (2007)
Now that Symphonica: The Orchestral Tour has begun I'm feeling all nostalgic for George Michael's last tour, 25Live. I thought it would be fun to look back at 25Live and share some of my memories. This entry: a closer look at 2007.
One of the best moments of the last 25Live concert of 2006 came when George Michael announced that he was going to do it all again very soon. The audience roared! We were all so excited; we couldn't wait to see our man in action again.
And then came the news that George was planning a stadium tour and he would be the first artist to play at the new Wembley Stadium! To be honest I wasn't all that impressed at first. The shows were cleverly described as "a thank you to my fans" but even so prices for stadium tickets were even higher than in 2006. And stadiums are - to me at least - big, soulless monsters. But none of it really mattered. I was going to see George Michael again.
2007: Party George
One of the best moments of the last 25Live concert of 2006 came when George Michael announced that he was going to do it all again very soon. The audience roared! We were all so excited; we couldn't wait to see our man in action again.
And then came the news that George was planning a stadium tour and he would be the first artist to play at the new Wembley Stadium! To be honest I wasn't all that impressed at first. The shows were cleverly described as "a thank you to my fans" but even so prices for stadium tickets were even higher than in 2006. And stadiums are - to me at least - big, soulless monsters. But none of it really mattered. I was going to see George Michael again.
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| George opens Wembley Stadium |
Whereas 2006 was all about reconnecting with his fans, in 2007 George Michael was giving a huge party and all his fans were invited. The setlist was more upbeat than 2006; you can't have too many ballads with a stadium crowd.
The party atmosphere was also reflected in George's choice of clothes. Gone were the black and silver Armani suits, for the remainder of the 25Live tour George opted for a jacket and jeans combination.
With one notable exception of course: his attire for Outside. Introducing the cop uniform from the Outside video clip onstage really was an inspired move. It was so fun and naughty, typical George. Also:hot, hot, hot!
Please read on for 8(!) mini-reviews with pictures from shows in 2007.
The party atmosphere was also reflected in George's choice of clothes. Gone were the black and silver Armani suits, for the remainder of the 25Live tour George opted for a jacket and jeans combination.
With one notable exception of course: his attire for Outside. Introducing the cop uniform from the Outside video clip onstage really was an inspired move. It was so fun and naughty, typical George. Also:hot, hot, hot!
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| George makes a very sexy cop! |
Please read on for 8(!) mini-reviews with pictures from shows in 2007.
Celebrating 25Live - part 1 (2006)
Now that Symphonica: The Orchestral Tour has begun I'm feeling all nostalgic for George Michael's last tour, 25Live. I thought it would be fun to look back at 25Live and share some of my memories. Today: a closer look at 2006. You can find memories of 2007 right here.
2006: Humble George
If there is one word that characterized George Michael on stage in 2006, it would be humble, with grateful a very close second. Here was a star starting over, wanting to connect with his fans again. We, the fans still loved him, and it was obvious our continued love and support moved him deeply.
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| George looking happy (Wembley Arena December 2006) |
Wanna know which shows I saw in 2006 and how good they were? Read on for 6 mini concert-reviews.
Friday, 26 August 2011
Preparation, preparation, preparation
Even someone as pathetic and ineffective as Wesley Windham-Pryce knew: it's all about the preparation. You'd think one needed no preparation to go to a George Michael concert. Um, wrong! Well, if you just want to have a good time, showing up on the night is enough. But if for some reason you want to relive the experience later through text, pictures and video, you'd better come prepared.
I'm almost done with the preparations. Just as well, my first concert is not far away.
With 25Live I've sat in one dodgy internet café after another, sometimes in the middle of the night, writing reviews for the Dutch Planet George forum. This time around I've got an adorable tiny netbook (an Asus Eee PC) with WLAN. No more internet cafés for me, yay!
Of course my netbook is called 'LittleGeorge', what else? LittleGeorge has just had an internal memory upgrade thanks to the incredibly nice guys at Paradigit. It can now comfortably handle multi-tasking and loading complex websites.
My pay as you go phone has had a generous top-up so that I can do the tweet-through-texting thingy. I'll just have to read up on how this works exactly and send some test tweets, because Twitter.com is still a bit of a mystery to me.
Batteries for my new camera are fully charged, so it's now ready for testing. Yes, new camera, because my beloved Cannon Powershot gave up the ghost just a few weeks ago. Just what I needed, buying a new camera. Finding a simple P&S camera isn't hard, there are so many of them. But if you want to shoot something halfway decent at a concert, it's quite another matter. Filming at a concert is a nightmare. With all the stage lighting there's far too much light, but not where the camera needs it. And of course there's altogether too much sound for a little compact camera to handle.
Fortunately all I want is proof on video that 'George was there and I was there too'. Even so, it's nice to get the best proof possible. But thanks to some great research by my gadget-loving wife I now own a Panasonic Lumix TZ8. We'd seen some great concert clips on Youtube shot with this camera. We'll see how it performs for me.
So now all I've got to do until the day of the concert is stay away from George-related news. I want it all to be a big surprise. It's very hard to stay spoiler-free but it'll be worth it in the end.
I'm almost done with the preparations. Just as well, my first concert is not far away.
With 25Live I've sat in one dodgy internet café after another, sometimes in the middle of the night, writing reviews for the Dutch Planet George forum. This time around I've got an adorable tiny netbook (an Asus Eee PC) with WLAN. No more internet cafés for me, yay!
Of course my netbook is called 'LittleGeorge', what else? LittleGeorge has just had an internal memory upgrade thanks to the incredibly nice guys at Paradigit. It can now comfortably handle multi-tasking and loading complex websites.
My pay as you go phone has had a generous top-up so that I can do the tweet-through-texting thingy. I'll just have to read up on how this works exactly and send some test tweets, because Twitter.com is still a bit of a mystery to me.
Batteries for my new camera are fully charged, so it's now ready for testing. Yes, new camera, because my beloved Cannon Powershot gave up the ghost just a few weeks ago. Just what I needed, buying a new camera. Finding a simple P&S camera isn't hard, there are so many of them. But if you want to shoot something halfway decent at a concert, it's quite another matter. Filming at a concert is a nightmare. With all the stage lighting there's far too much light, but not where the camera needs it. And of course there's altogether too much sound for a little compact camera to handle.
Fortunately all I want is proof on video that 'George was there and I was there too'. Even so, it's nice to get the best proof possible. But thanks to some great research by my gadget-loving wife I now own a Panasonic Lumix TZ8. We'd seen some great concert clips on Youtube shot with this camera. We'll see how it performs for me.
So now all I've got to do until the day of the concert is stay away from George-related news. I want it all to be a big surprise. It's very hard to stay spoiler-free but it'll be worth it in the end.
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Thank God for cellphones
Today I talked to my brother. You'd think that was no big deal, but it is. It is! I thought I'd never hear my brother's voice again. I'm very happy right now, crying tears of happiness.
My brother lives in Nigeria, where I was born. When I visited Nigeria some ten years ago I got to meet my brother for the first time. I loved him on sight.
Huge cultural differences aside, we were so alike it was uncanny. We have the same build and we've inherited both our mother's temperament and intelligence. We're both headstrong and stubborn (that's a common trait of the Igbo-people, I believe). Whereas I was given the opportunity to get an advanced education, my brother was not so lucky. But it was obvious he was very smart.
For the duration of my visit, cultural differences weren't all that important. What mattered was being happy we'd found each other again when we'd both thought for so long the other was dead. It all changed when I got home again.
The Nigerian phone system is notoriously unreliable. And my brother didn't even own a phone which made things even more difficult. Being so far apart and having only email at our disposal - letters are routinely stolen in Nigeria - cultural differences were more difficult to ignore. After a few years I couldn't take it any more. I never stopped thinking about him, though.
And now we've spoken again, thanks to advances in technology. Phone lines in Nigeria are still bad, but now almost everybody owns a cell phone, even my brother.
I thought I would never hear his voice again. Sometimes it's wonderful to be wrong.
My brother lives in Nigeria, where I was born. When I visited Nigeria some ten years ago I got to meet my brother for the first time. I loved him on sight.
Huge cultural differences aside, we were so alike it was uncanny. We have the same build and we've inherited both our mother's temperament and intelligence. We're both headstrong and stubborn (that's a common trait of the Igbo-people, I believe). Whereas I was given the opportunity to get an advanced education, my brother was not so lucky. But it was obvious he was very smart.
For the duration of my visit, cultural differences weren't all that important. What mattered was being happy we'd found each other again when we'd both thought for so long the other was dead. It all changed when I got home again.
The Nigerian phone system is notoriously unreliable. And my brother didn't even own a phone which made things even more difficult. Being so far apart and having only email at our disposal - letters are routinely stolen in Nigeria - cultural differences were more difficult to ignore. After a few years I couldn't take it any more. I never stopped thinking about him, though.
And now we've spoken again, thanks to advances in technology. Phone lines in Nigeria are still bad, but now almost everybody owns a cell phone, even my brother.
I thought I would never hear his voice again. Sometimes it's wonderful to be wrong.
Monday, 22 August 2011
Openly Gay
Openly and gay: it should be against the law to put these two words next to each other.
Mr. X., the openly gay singer, or less frequently (heh) Mr. Y, the openly gay actor.; words cannot express how much I hate stuff like that. By saying that someone is openly gay, you're implying that this is noteworthy and strange. As if loving someone of the same sex is so outrageous, that people should only be allowed to be secretly gay. It makes being gay sound incredibly shameful and sleazy. You might just as well say Mr. X, self-confessed sleazebag, or Mr. Y, brazenly gay.
Using phrases like openly gay is dangerous because it perpetuates the myth that there is something inherently sleazy or shameful about being gay. And there isn’t.
I wish people would get it into their heads that being gay – as much as being straight – isn’t about sex. It’s about loving someone with all your heart and wanting to spend the rest of your life with him or her. And it really isn't important if this person happens to have the same number of X chromosomes as you do.
Sunday, 21 August 2011
Crime shows: no mourning allowed
I watch a lot of crime shows and police procedurals. I don't like the CSI Franchise, but most other shows are fun. Law & Order SVU, Law & Order Criminal Intent, The Closer, A Toch of Frost, New Tricks, I love them all.
As much as I enjoy crime shows, one thing seriously bugs me. One of my pet peeves is that you almost never see any sign of actual grief on those shows. Sure, family and friends of the murder victim shed a tear or two, but before you know it, it's business as usual. You never see any of the shock and devastation that a death, let alone a murder, causes in the real world.
Now I realise that the writers only have 40 to 60 minutes at their disposal to tell their story and have to deal with grief in a perfunctory manner, but come on. When your friend gets murdered you don't just go on with life. Everything stops and for a while you're either in shock or besides yourself with grief. You might find a 'new normal' but not in the week or so it always takes TV detectives to catch the killer.
What's even more annoying is the exception to the no-grief rule. As soon as someone shows some real emotion it's a clear sign he or she is the murderer. Only murderers are allowed to weep and wail to their heart's content.
Last night I watched an episode of the delightfully quirky Life, starring Damian Lewis. A man was utterly destroyed by the death of his wife. At first I was pleasantly surprised, here at last was some realism. But sure enough it turned out that the husband had devised an ingenious plan to kill his wife. For political gain, no less.
As much as I enjoy crime shows, one thing seriously bugs me. One of my pet peeves is that you almost never see any sign of actual grief on those shows. Sure, family and friends of the murder victim shed a tear or two, but before you know it, it's business as usual. You never see any of the shock and devastation that a death, let alone a murder, causes in the real world.
Now I realise that the writers only have 40 to 60 minutes at their disposal to tell their story and have to deal with grief in a perfunctory manner, but come on. When your friend gets murdered you don't just go on with life. Everything stops and for a while you're either in shock or besides yourself with grief. You might find a 'new normal' but not in the week or so it always takes TV detectives to catch the killer.
What's even more annoying is the exception to the no-grief rule. As soon as someone shows some real emotion it's a clear sign he or she is the murderer. Only murderers are allowed to weep and wail to their heart's content.
Last night I watched an episode of the delightfully quirky Life, starring Damian Lewis. A man was utterly destroyed by the death of his wife. At first I was pleasantly surprised, here at last was some realism. But sure enough it turned out that the husband had devised an ingenious plan to kill his wife. For political gain, no less.
It's finally happened, I've joined Twitter. My twitter username is @dutch_ada. Never an early adopter, I waited a long time to join the rest of the world on twitter. I love to write but the thought of cramming my thoughts in just 140 characters scares me a bit. I've yet to write my first tweet!
I tried to educate myself by reading quite a few "twitter for beginners" guides but there is so much to learn. Timeline, tweetdeck, unfollowing, it's all Greek to me. I feel old. Then again, people (much) older than I have embraced the medium so I should be able to as well.
I've asked a fellow George Michael fan, @saskiavanhassel, to point me in the right direction. She welcomed me to twitter, which was so nice of her. Thanks, Saskia!
Anyway, I probably won't be spending all that much time on twitter as this blog takes up most of my time right now. I guess for now I'll just use twitter to let people know I've updated this blog with a new review of a George Michael concert.
I tried to educate myself by reading quite a few "twitter for beginners" guides but there is so much to learn. Timeline, tweetdeck, unfollowing, it's all Greek to me. I feel old. Then again, people (much) older than I have embraced the medium so I should be able to as well.
I've asked a fellow George Michael fan, @saskiavanhassel, to point me in the right direction. She welcomed me to twitter, which was so nice of her. Thanks, Saskia!
Anyway, I probably won't be spending all that much time on twitter as this blog takes up most of my time right now. I guess for now I'll just use twitter to let people know I've updated this blog with a new review of a George Michael concert.
Friday, 19 August 2011
An ode to 25Live
George Michael doesn't do things by halves, does he? When he takes a break from going on tour, he stays away for some 15 years. Of course there was a lot going on in his personal life at the time (too much death), but maybe he had just a touch of stage fright as well?
Anyway, in 2006 he finally returned to the stage, and once there didn't want to leave again, much to the delight of all his fans. 25Live started out as a celebration of his 25 year career but quickly turned into a way of life for George and the fans. The show 'ran' for three years (2006-2008), plus 3 shows in Australia in 2010.
George Michael called it "an amazing, amazing ride" at the end of the Final Two. Well, right back at you George! Seeing the 25Live shows was an amazing experience and I felt so privileged to be there. Other people buy beautiful things for their homes, expensive things. I've bought some beautiful memories of 25Live and - as the ad says - they're priceless.
Anyway, in 2006 he finally returned to the stage, and once there didn't want to leave again, much to the delight of all his fans. 25Live started out as a celebration of his 25 year career but quickly turned into a way of life for George and the fans. The show 'ran' for three years (2006-2008), plus 3 shows in Australia in 2010.
25Live was a terrific show. It sold very well in Europe. (It wasn't quite as big a success in America, but the American crowds made up for poor ticket sales with sheer enthusiasm. Man, those guys were loud!). The show was selected to open Wembley Stadium in London in 2007. All in all, 25Live was very succesfull for team George Michael.
Somehow I bought tickets for 20 concerts in three years, I’m not quite sure how that happened. I certainly didn’t start out with the idea of going to as many concerts as that. In fact, for a while I couldn't even get tickets for one concert!
I didn’t know about 25Live until a few days after the tickets went on sale in the Netherlands. Of course, tickets for all three shows in Rotterdam had sold out within minutes, and I was heartbroken.
When I was looking for tickets on the secondary market, a nice lady contacted me and advised to buy tickets for the not yet sold-out show in Oberhausen, Germany, instead of buying potentially dodgy tickets for Rotterdam. Excellent advise which I’m still thankful for. So off to Oberhausen we went.
And of course I was blown away by the show, 25Live is pure magic. I wanted to see more of 25Live and moved heaven and earth to get my hands on tickets for the concerts in Rotterdam. I was well on my way of becoming a serious 25Live aficionado.
When I was looking for tickets on the secondary market, a nice lady contacted me and advised to buy tickets for the not yet sold-out show in Oberhausen, Germany, instead of buying potentially dodgy tickets for Rotterdam. Excellent advise which I’m still thankful for. So off to Oberhausen we went.
And of course I was blown away by the show, 25Live is pure magic. I wanted to see more of 25Live and moved heaven and earth to get my hands on tickets for the concerts in Rotterdam. I was well on my way of becoming a serious 25Live aficionado.
In 20 shows I saw some great things. I saw Last Christmas performed live! I fell in love with all of the excellent backing singers; those guys are the best..I saw George Michael open Wembley. I saw him wow the audience in Madison Square Garden. I witnessed him flubbing I don't know how many lines (heh). I saw him have so much fun on stage. I saw his genuine emotion at the ecstatic reaction of the crowds (aww).
George Michael called it "an amazing, amazing ride" at the end of the Final Two. Well, right back at you George! Seeing the 25Live shows was an amazing experience and I felt so privileged to be there. Other people buy beautiful things for their homes, expensive things. I've bought some beautiful memories of 25Live and - as the ad says - they're priceless.
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Why I am a George Michael fan - part 2
A few days ago I talked about how much the music of George Michael meant to me over the years and how much I enjoy seeing him live. But that's not the only reason I'm a fan.
So, what is it - besides the music - that makes George Michael so great? He's not exactly scandal-free, is he? Yeah, that part of being a George fan definitely sucks. But George Michael is so much more than all the bad publicity would have you believe. I admire George greatly for a number of things.
I admire him because after being closeted for a long time and then enduring the most public and humiliating outing since, well, ever, he still managed to come out (heh) of it a better and more honest artist. He really couldn't have handled the whole silly mess better. On occasion I watch the hour long interview he did with talkshow host Michael Parkinson. It's a master-class in coming out with power and dignity.
Most stars try to present a happy image to the world, as if having fame shields you from life's troubles. George Michael is not afraid to show us he's a real human being who goes through some really bad stuff on occasion. I admire him because he's talked openly about his ongoing battle with depression and grief and the counselling he received for it.
He's known a lot of grief and didn't handle it at all well. For years and years it was this dark cloud hanging over him, keeping him from writing more great music and on occasion making him do stupid things (LA restrooms anyone?).
He's quite confident, and deservedly so, when it comes to his talent. But apart from that he really doesn't have the most positive self-image, does he? For years he genuinely didn't like his own looks, despite being drooled over by millions of women worldwide. And whenever he talks about his youth and complicated family life you can still see the hurt boy in his eyes. Showing vulnerability like that makes it very easy to relate to him.
All in all I find the life of George Michael utterly fascinating. He's such a beautiful mass of contradictions. He's 'the gayest man on earth' who bedded numerous women. Here we have this huge superstar who was afraid to come out to his family for years (he only told them after his lover died).
He used to be fiercely reticent about his private life but after being outed couldn't stop talking about his sex life and his love for soft-drugs. Thank God in these last few months he finally came across his personal 'mute' button, refusing to be drawn about his personal life. Long may it last!
Well, there you have it: my reasons why I'm such a fan of George Michael. Some people may find it strange that I'm such an ardent fan at my age, but I don't care. I just adore the man.
So, what is it - besides the music - that makes George Michael so great? He's not exactly scandal-free, is he? Yeah, that part of being a George fan definitely sucks. But George Michael is so much more than all the bad publicity would have you believe. I admire George greatly for a number of things.
I admire him because after being closeted for a long time and then enduring the most public and humiliating outing since, well, ever, he still managed to come out (heh) of it a better and more honest artist. He really couldn't have handled the whole silly mess better. On occasion I watch the hour long interview he did with talkshow host Michael Parkinson. It's a master-class in coming out with power and dignity.
Most stars try to present a happy image to the world, as if having fame shields you from life's troubles. George Michael is not afraid to show us he's a real human being who goes through some really bad stuff on occasion. I admire him because he's talked openly about his ongoing battle with depression and grief and the counselling he received for it.
He's known a lot of grief and didn't handle it at all well. For years and years it was this dark cloud hanging over him, keeping him from writing more great music and on occasion making him do stupid things (LA restrooms anyone?).
He's quite confident, and deservedly so, when it comes to his talent. But apart from that he really doesn't have the most positive self-image, does he? For years he genuinely didn't like his own looks, despite being drooled over by millions of women worldwide. And whenever he talks about his youth and complicated family life you can still see the hurt boy in his eyes. Showing vulnerability like that makes it very easy to relate to him.
All in all I find the life of George Michael utterly fascinating. He's such a beautiful mass of contradictions. He's 'the gayest man on earth' who bedded numerous women. Here we have this huge superstar who was afraid to come out to his family for years (he only told them after his lover died).
He used to be fiercely reticent about his private life but after being outed couldn't stop talking about his sex life and his love for soft-drugs. Thank God in these last few months he finally came across his personal 'mute' button, refusing to be drawn about his personal life. Long may it last!
Well, there you have it: my reasons why I'm such a fan of George Michael. Some people may find it strange that I'm such an ardent fan at my age, but I don't care. I just adore the man.
Sunday, 14 August 2011
Why I am a George Michael fan - part 1
Every George Michael fan is familiar with the question. "So why exactly are you a George Michael fan?"
Whenever I meet someone new it doesn't take them long to notice I'm a GM fan. And then the question is asked, sometimes followed by a baffled: "You do know he's gay, don't you?" Um, yeah, I noticed, thanks for asking.
So I try to explain why George is 'my man', so to speak. It's not easy, not because there aren't enough reasons but because it's so hard to confine myself to just a few. I can talk about my fascination with all things George for a loong time. Sound scary? Well, did you ever hear a man talk about his favourite soccer team? I'm a bit like that, dull but harmless.
Whenever I meet someone new it doesn't take them long to notice I'm a GM fan. And then the question is asked, sometimes followed by a baffled: "You do know he's gay, don't you?" Um, yeah, I noticed, thanks for asking.
So I try to explain why George is 'my man', so to speak. It's not easy, not because there aren't enough reasons but because it's so hard to confine myself to just a few. I can talk about my fascination with all things George for a loong time. Sound scary? Well, did you ever hear a man talk about his favourite soccer team? I'm a bit like that, dull but harmless.
Friday, 12 August 2011
Delight: experiencing and overcoming 'technical difficulties'
These last few days were not easy with my stress disorder acting up big time, but today there is reason for rejoicing!
Why so happy? Well, I finally got our old HP Deskjet 720C printer to work with my new Windows 7 computer.
When I bought my new computer we realised that our trusty HP Deskjet would have to go, as it wasn't an USB-printer. But it was still in fine working condition after years on the job and we didn't want to spend a lot of money to buy a printer of lesser quality. And we still had some prink cartridges left. Yes, the Dutch are known for being cheap for a reason.
Anyway, we bought a new cable to connect the old printer to an USB port and downloaded the new printer drivers and thought we'd be good to go. We thought wrong!
It took me hours and hours over the course of a few months to get the horrid thing working again. The euphemism for something like this is 'experiencing technical difficulties'. In reality it involved a lot of shouting, threatening to throw the blasted thing out of the window if it didn't start behaving right now and so on and me feeling stupid and a computer illiterate.
Today, after reading about countless solutions on computer help forums and applying a patch or two without result, I finally admitted defeat and disgustedly disconnected the thing. Then I thought let's give it one more try, connected it again and RESULT! I still don't know what the problem was exactly, or how I fixed it. But who cares, it's working!
I'm so happy! I've felt like such a failure for the last few days and it's so nice to feel good about myself again. Even if it is over something as insignificant as a printer.
Now shall I get started on the Dell 725 my dear wife picked up for a song (and now we know why!) which she can't get to work with her laptop? Nah, I’m going to rejoice some more!
Why so happy? Well, I finally got our old HP Deskjet 720C printer to work with my new Windows 7 computer.
When I bought my new computer we realised that our trusty HP Deskjet would have to go, as it wasn't an USB-printer. But it was still in fine working condition after years on the job and we didn't want to spend a lot of money to buy a printer of lesser quality. And we still had some prink cartridges left. Yes, the Dutch are known for being cheap for a reason.
Anyway, we bought a new cable to connect the old printer to an USB port and downloaded the new printer drivers and thought we'd be good to go. We thought wrong!
It took me hours and hours over the course of a few months to get the horrid thing working again. The euphemism for something like this is 'experiencing technical difficulties'. In reality it involved a lot of shouting, threatening to throw the blasted thing out of the window if it didn't start behaving right now and so on and me feeling stupid and a computer illiterate.
Today, after reading about countless solutions on computer help forums and applying a patch or two without result, I finally admitted defeat and disgustedly disconnected the thing. Then I thought let's give it one more try, connected it again and RESULT! I still don't know what the problem was exactly, or how I fixed it. But who cares, it's working!
I'm so happy! I've felt like such a failure for the last few days and it's so nice to feel good about myself again. Even if it is over something as insignificant as a printer.
Now shall I get started on the Dell 725 my dear wife picked up for a song (and now we know why!) which she can't get to work with her laptop? Nah, I’m going to rejoice some more!
Monday, 8 August 2011
The bad behaviour of inner children
Every adult has one or more inner children inside them. Every inner child is different. My inner child is a baby who just lost her mother in a time of war and is trying to survive with bombs falling around her while she is slowly being starved to death by her enemies. She’s out of her mind with fear and also very, very angry at being abandoned. Believe me, I’m no fun to be around when my inner baby is running the show!
Of course the baby is not my only inner child, who doesn't have shy schoolchild or awkward teenager inside them? But the baby is the inner child I struggle with the most. I find it nearly impossible to deal with her in a way that’s beneficial to both of us. I’m slowly coming to accept that I have to stop hating her, but that’s a subject for another day.
When you have such an active inner child yourself it’s pretty easy to spot inner child trouble in others. Quite a few times over the last years I’ve wanted to say to George Michael: “Psst, your inner child is showing!” Or rather, his inner rebellious teenager.
As we all know George could give a flying fig what he’s showing and I say, good for him. Still, it makes me giggle whenever I see him do or say things only a surly teenage boy would. Aww, bless.
Stars and their fans, a match made in heaven?
I’ve been a part of a few on-line fan communities and the differences between them are striking. For the most part stars seem to get the fans they 'deserve'. For instance, fairly easy going stars get easy going fans. Exacting, perfectionist stars tend to have hard to please fans.
The very approachable and universally well liked Ice Dancers Torvill and Dean used to have very dedicated but friendly fans. Their on-line fan message board was a lovely, welcoming and fun affair. This was before their new-found and thoroughly deserved Dancing on Ice fame, but somehow I don’t think much has changed. What probably happened is that the boards had an influx of younger but equally nice and enthusiastic fans.
The on-line fan club of former tennis player Pete Sampras on the other hand was a strictly led, rather dour affair. Here’s where I learned a valuable lesson: lurk, lurk and then lurk some more before you jump in. I posted in haste, and hadn’t noticed that the unmistakable leader of the forum had the same username as the one I foolishly took. Of course this resulted in many misunderstandings - and, I might add, not much hilarity. Laughing amongst ourselves or making gentle fun of Pete were generally frowned upon. Bit of a nightmare, that one.
And then there’s George. The George Michael fandom is a bit of a mixed bag just like the man himself. George has both the most loyal and patient and most critical fans out there. Reading some comments about George on what is supposed to be a fan message board you can’t help thinking: "With friends like these …"
Before it got replaced by Facebook and Twitter conversations, I used to visit the English General Discussion sub-forum of the Planet George Forums but soon stopped because of the overly critical atmosphere. Mix in a fair bit of homophobia and the fun went right out of it. The Dutch sub-forum is still going strong though and it’s is lovely, lots of silly jokes and people are always ready to help one another. Well worth a visit if you're a Dutch George Michael fan.
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Happy memories: participating in the Canal Parade 2010
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| Yup, that's my arm waving the rainbow flag |
Last year (2010) I participated in the Canal Parade of the Amsterdam Gay Pride. I'm not toned, particularly good looking or male, I'm just an average black, gay woman doing her bit for diversity and gay rights, but I was still there!
I feel this warrants a few more exclamation marks but as one of my favourite authors, sir Terry Pratchett, tells us: "Multiple exclamation marks are a sure sign of a diseased mind". So I'll refrain. But yes, it was very cool indeed to experience the Canal Parade up close.
I was invited by the Dutch Department of Education to sail on their boat as their guest. The invite was a thank you for my work as a volunteer with the Utrecht branch of GLBT organisation COC. Together with dozens of other guests from all kinds of Dutch gay rights organisations we sailed through the canals of Amsterdam on August 7, 2010. The weather was quite bad, but our spirits were high. It was such an honour to be there. All in all, one of my happiest memories.
Want to see what the Canal Parade really looks like? Pictures from the day after the jump.
Saturday, 6 August 2011
It's Gay Pride Time!
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| Canal Parade 2010 |
Today it's party time in Amsterdam, with the the yearly Canal Parade, the culmination of the Amsterdam Gay Pride week. Almost a hundred colourful little and big boats (floats) with GLBT and straight people 'parade' through the canals of Amsterdam. And for one day only our capital is once again the Gay Capital of Europe.
The Canal Parade is one of the biggest outdoor events of Amsterdam.
This celebration of diversity is one big outdoor party and everyone is invited. You wouldn't believe how many straight families visit Amsterdam on the first Saturday in August to join in the fun. And why not? The Canal Parade is great - and for the most part clean - fun!
Oh, I know the media make out as if every boat is filled from top to bottom (heh) with naked guys, but that is a big fat lie.
Yes, some some boats are decidedly sexy. It takes all kinds <shrug>. And if people want to go wild for just one day a year, I say: "Go for it!" (remember these topless guys are really toned and very easy on the eyes).
Besides, there is much more naked flesh on display at the yearly Summer Carnival in Rotterdam, but somehow nobody complains about that. I hate subtle homophobia like that.
Watching all the boats go by can be quite emotional. It's like watching the history of the Dutch gay rights movement being acted out before your very eyes.
I'm always happy when I see a company pride boat. It's a public declaration that gay bullying won't be tolerated in that company.
This year V&D (a large department store), PostNL (Dutch Mail), ING Bank (our biggest bank), Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Rail), the Dutch Police, newcomers Department of Defence and many others all participate with a company pride boat. Yay!
It took ages before members of the Dutch armed forces were allowed to participate in uniform, but a few years ago it finally happened. I had to blink away tears when I spotted them in the boat of the Dutch Police (they weren't allowed to put up their own float back then), waving enthusiastically, taking it all in. That was a huge step forward. And this year they even have their very own float!
And finally there are the boats of the human rights groups, reminding everyone how blessed we are over here because we are free to organise an event like the Amsterdam Gay Pride. There are far too many places in the world, some of them close by, where gays and lesbians are fired from their jobs, put out of their houses, threatened with violence or even put in jail for being who they are. Let's keep working to change all that.
Friday, 5 August 2011
George Michael and the Harmen Siezen effect
George Michael definitely has a bit of a Harmen Siezen effect going on. Don't know what I'm talking about? Of course not. Let me explain.
Harmen Siezen used to be a news presenter on Dutch national TV. He was universally well-liked, by all accounts a very nice man. When there was talk of starting the first commercial Dutch TV network Harmen Siezen signed on. Unfortunately, the network was a spectacular flop and Mr Siezen was presumably reduced to asking for his old job back. He got rehired, but he never got promoted to presenting the 8 o'clock news (our most important news bulletin). One got the feeling this was punishment for his 'desertion'. A bit petty of his employers, but OK.
A few years later commercial TV networks were a huge success. So was Mr. Siezen just unlucky? I don't think so. It's a pet theory of mine that Mr Siezen is part of a group of people who are just not cut out to get away with things. Hence the Harmen Siezen (HC) effect.
We all know people like that, people who suffer from the HC effect. If everyone is doing something forbidden, like 'borrowing' office supplies, they are the ones getting caught doing it and getting fired for it. (Yeah I know, technically it's stealing. But let's be honest, we've all done it at times) And if everyone is parking their car on the pavement because there are no parking spaces left, they are the ones whose cars are towed away.
To my surprise, even major international superstars are not spared the Harmen Siezen effect. I feel George Michael is a prime example.
Just think about it. His was the most public - and humiliating - outing of all time. You could argue it was all out (heh) in the open because he got arrested and all and thus a matter of public record. But lots of (semi-)famous men are cautioned or arrested by the police for similar behaviour (it is rather common after all). Somehow, those cases never get any further than the blind items pages of gossip magazines, if they get mentioned at all.
And it's the same with some of his other reported troubles. The way the papers went on and on about it, you'd think George Michael is the only celebrity (besides Doherty) that was ever caught with drugs. But they're all at it, but once again it's not really talked about except in blind items.
So how come, if he's always getting caught, he's not in more trouble than he's been? How come after the police caught him ahem 'partying in the park' after 25Live wrapped in autumn 2008 he got away with a caution? He could've gotten in a lot of legal trouble if the police had formally charged him with possession of the stuff he was allegedly carrying.
I guess what saves George Michael is his GG factor. I have a feeling that most of his arrests went something like this. He does something bad and because of the HC-effect he inevitably gets caught. He's genuinely horrified and remorseful about whatever it is that he has done wrong. I'm convinced that under all the acting out is a thoroughly decent man, who gets very upset at his own bad behaviour. And I think this shines through. Basically George Michael is A Good Guy, and that helps quite a bit.
And if that doesn't work there's always the famous GM-factor. Most people, fans and non-fans alike, have a soft spot for George. You can't really hate a man who demonstrates, as Polly Vernon of the Guardian once so beautifully put it, "a somewhat inept approach to being alive".
Harmen Siezen used to be a news presenter on Dutch national TV. He was universally well-liked, by all accounts a very nice man. When there was talk of starting the first commercial Dutch TV network Harmen Siezen signed on. Unfortunately, the network was a spectacular flop and Mr Siezen was presumably reduced to asking for his old job back. He got rehired, but he never got promoted to presenting the 8 o'clock news (our most important news bulletin). One got the feeling this was punishment for his 'desertion'. A bit petty of his employers, but OK.
A few years later commercial TV networks were a huge success. So was Mr. Siezen just unlucky? I don't think so. It's a pet theory of mine that Mr Siezen is part of a group of people who are just not cut out to get away with things. Hence the Harmen Siezen (HC) effect.
We all know people like that, people who suffer from the HC effect. If everyone is doing something forbidden, like 'borrowing' office supplies, they are the ones getting caught doing it and getting fired for it. (Yeah I know, technically it's stealing. But let's be honest, we've all done it at times) And if everyone is parking their car on the pavement because there are no parking spaces left, they are the ones whose cars are towed away.
To my surprise, even major international superstars are not spared the Harmen Siezen effect. I feel George Michael is a prime example.
Just think about it. His was the most public - and humiliating - outing of all time. You could argue it was all out (heh) in the open because he got arrested and all and thus a matter of public record. But lots of (semi-)famous men are cautioned or arrested by the police for similar behaviour (it is rather common after all). Somehow, those cases never get any further than the blind items pages of gossip magazines, if they get mentioned at all.
And it's the same with some of his other reported troubles. The way the papers went on and on about it, you'd think George Michael is the only celebrity (besides Doherty) that was ever caught with drugs. But they're all at it, but once again it's not really talked about except in blind items.
So how come, if he's always getting caught, he's not in more trouble than he's been? How come after the police caught him ahem 'partying in the park' after 25Live wrapped in autumn 2008 he got away with a caution? He could've gotten in a lot of legal trouble if the police had formally charged him with possession of the stuff he was allegedly carrying.
I guess what saves George Michael is his GG factor. I have a feeling that most of his arrests went something like this. He does something bad and because of the HC-effect he inevitably gets caught. He's genuinely horrified and remorseful about whatever it is that he has done wrong. I'm convinced that under all the acting out is a thoroughly decent man, who gets very upset at his own bad behaviour. And I think this shines through. Basically George Michael is A Good Guy, and that helps quite a bit.
And if that doesn't work there's always the famous GM-factor. Most people, fans and non-fans alike, have a soft spot for George. You can't really hate a man who demonstrates, as Polly Vernon of the Guardian once so beautifully put it, "a somewhat inept approach to being alive".
Guilty pleasure: Charmed
Well, I finally gave in and bought the first two seasons of Charmed on DVD. Yeah, I know! I'm a bit ashamed of myself, but in my defence they were on sale.
Charmed is a true guilty pleasure. Just like Private Practice it boasts unbelievably silly scripts and actors that are far too to good to be in a show like that. The best actress in Charmed is Holly Marie Combs and even she buckled under the weight of the ever more absurd storylines.
Even so, the first three season with Shannen Doherty were rather good fun. After Shannon left, or was pushed, the quality went downhill very fast. Although the last few seasons are worth watching if only to see Comb's boredom with it all grow with each new episode. She takes phoning it in to a whole new level, and who could blame her.
If you want to feel smarter than a bunch of fictional characters, then Charmed is just the series for you. Try it, it’s fun.
Delight: Cat versus Christian Music
It's a sad day when you realise that your cat has better taste in music than you do. But when you put that fact to good use you could still end up with something delightful. I still giggle when I remember how I tricked our cat.
Our cat Faith is of course a fan of George Michael music; she especially loves the mixes. In my experience most cats love George, probably something to do with the colour of his voice. Faith however is not a fan of Christian Praise and Worship music.
Don't know what praise music sounds like? Well, imagine the Christian equivalent of Euro summer hits. Think Macarena or Alejandro, a simple chorus and a bit of a hook. In other words, praise music is not exactly at the high end of contemporary Christian music. Of course there are beautiful, complex worship songs, but they are far and few in between.
Now I love praise music myself, the simple lyrics and melodies makes them perfect for singing your prayers.
Anyway, our Faith hates everything in the praise genre with a fiery passion. As soon as the first chorus hits her ears she is literally clawing at the door handle of our back door, loudly begging to be let out. Even if it's pouring out, she prefers the bad weather over the music. It's a bit insulting, really.
One day I got my own back, though. Faith sneaked in the wardrobe in our bedroom and made herself invisible as only cats can. You could hear her purring very loud, she was obviously having a great time sitting just out of reach on top of our clothes. No amount of begging could maker her leave her hiding place. Nothing worked, not even the promise of a cat snack.
Totally fed up, I resorted to a dirty trick. I placed one of my MP3-players with built-in speakers on a shelf in the wardrobe, put on some praise music and turned the volume way up. Then I sat down on the bed to wait. I didn't have long to wait. Not even enjoying the forbidden fruits of our wardrobe could entice Faith to listen to saccharine Christian pop. Within 5 minutes a thoroughly disgusted cat came charging out of the wardrobe. Praise be!
Delight: cats
Let's talk about Faith, the cutest cat in the world!
She is one of the biggest joys of my life. Every day she makes me laugh at least once, she's just so funny.
Faith is not named after the George Michael song, but after the other Vampire Slayer. mmmFaith. I can certainly see the resemblance. Although our Faith doesn't have superpowers and tends to run away from danger. Also, she's not fictional but very real. But they are both very, very cute.
She is one of the biggest joys of my life. Every day she makes me laugh at least once, she's just so funny.
Faith is not named after the George Michael song, but after the other Vampire Slayer. mmmFaith. I can certainly see the resemblance. Although our Faith doesn't have superpowers and tends to run away from danger. Also, she's not fictional but very real. But they are both very, very cute.
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| This used to be our chair, but cats have a habit of reserving the best seat in the house for themselves. |
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| She's such a diva! |
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| She's a bit of flirt, isn't she? She loves posing for the camera. |
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| She's far less fearsome than she likes to think she is. |
Scary fans: howlers and hunters
A few years ago, a man staged an attack on the Dutch Royal Family, killing 7 innocent bystanders and himself in the process. It shocked the nation.
Wanting to understand what had happened , I read up on people like him. I read all about howlers (fanatical fans) and hunters (dangerous "anti-fans"). I read all about how howlers never hunt and hunters never howl. It was a frightening look at the dark side of fandom.
Every celebrity has fans, no matter how insignificant their talent or how short their stay in the limelight. And among their fans will be a few howlers, it just goes with the territory. These people like all other fans just want to feel or even be close to the object of their desire, but unlike all other fans they will go to great lengths to make that happen.
If you've ever been part of any kind of fan community, you've probably met a howler or two. I've certainly met my share of slightly deranged George Michael fans. Mostly they made my skin crawl, but sometimes I was a bit jealous as well. They are really dedicated. They make friends with all the people connected with a George Michael tour, to get as much the information and help as possible. I could never do that as I'm much too self-conscious for stuff like that. But the super fans just go for it. Weird they may be, but they get results!
Howlers can be a nuisance, but they're not dangerous. Hunters are quite another matter. The man who shot John Lennon for instance is considered a celebrity-seeking hunter. They can be very dangerous. The threat of a hunter is probably what keeps the security people of big stars awake at night.
I don't understand hunters, but then I'm reasonably sane. There are lots of people in the public eye that I've hated for all sorts of silly reasons. Never, ever did I think it was necessary to let them know this, let alone 'do something about it'. That's what your imagination is for!
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Song of grief: Afscheid nemen bestaat niet
Our most successful singer here in the Netherlands is called Marco Borsato. He's not a singer-songwriter as such, but his close collaboration with his personal songwriter is very successful. The pair have scored numerous hits.
A Borsato song is instantly recognisable, most of them are rather bombastic pop songs full of anguish, love or some other strong emotion. Borsato isn't the greatest singer around but boy can he emote!
If you're in love, and flying high, his songs will lift you even higher. If you're going through a particularly brutal breakup, he's there for you. Not surprisingly he can also be counted on to help you through a period of grief.
His most famous song of grief is called: Afscheid nemen bestaat niet, which translates to something like "no goodbye is forever".
The plot of the official video goes like this. We see a little girl in a playground, while her mother is at work nearby. The little girl is all alone, obviously feeling sad. She whispers the name of her father and Borsato (her father) appears and sings the song to her. He walks with her through the playground and the girl looks happy again. At the end of the song, the girl's mother appears again to to pick her up. We take one last look at the playground and see the image of Borsato fading. He was never there, existing only in the imagination of the little girl. It's actually rather sweet, check it out here.
The lyrics are here, in Dutch of course. But, as we all know Google (translation) is your friend. Well, more of an acquaintance in this case, because Google gets it wrong a few times. So here are the main points: no goodbye is forever, the dead are still connected to the loved ones they left behind and if needed they will come and help them through their grief.
The song is written from the viewpoint of a person who's about to die. The song is a promise to someone that he'll always be there if he or she needs him. Fluister mijn naam en ik kom er aan. "Just whisper my name, and I will come to you".
The sentiment of this song is a bit, well, trite, and the fact that absolutely everyone and their brother has heard this song played at a funeral doesn't exactly help. Still, there's one line in this song that's on my mind a lot these days. Zoek me in alles, dan kom je me tegen. "Look for me everywhere and you'll find me again".
It's a concept I'm struggling with. On the one hand I couldn't agree more. I do believe that love can build a bridge between the living and the dead. That a bond between two people can be so strong that death can only alter it, but not break it forever. And I want to believe that if you know what to look for you can encounter your loved ones in other people.
On the other hand it's a fine line between believing all that and silliness. I'm reminded of an episode of Friends where Phoebe was convinced that a stray cat harboured the soul of her dead mother. Sure, it was played for laughs, but what's the difference between flaky Phoebe's delusiosn and regular transference (me seeing my mum in other people).
I've seen glimpses of my mother in people I loved dearly. A good friend, a former boss, a life coach, my therapist, they all mirrored aspects of my mothers love. It's comforting but it also leaves you feeling very vulnerable in that kind of relationship. So it's a constant struggle.
But today it all became clear to me. I heard a voice telling me: "What's left of your mum isn't in other people, it's in you"!
So maybe, it's not so much a question of looking everywhere as looking deep inside yourself. My mum isn't gone forever, she's become a part of me.
A Borsato song is instantly recognisable, most of them are rather bombastic pop songs full of anguish, love or some other strong emotion. Borsato isn't the greatest singer around but boy can he emote!
If you're in love, and flying high, his songs will lift you even higher. If you're going through a particularly brutal breakup, he's there for you. Not surprisingly he can also be counted on to help you through a period of grief.
His most famous song of grief is called: Afscheid nemen bestaat niet, which translates to something like "no goodbye is forever".
The plot of the official video goes like this. We see a little girl in a playground, while her mother is at work nearby. The little girl is all alone, obviously feeling sad. She whispers the name of her father and Borsato (her father) appears and sings the song to her. He walks with her through the playground and the girl looks happy again. At the end of the song, the girl's mother appears again to to pick her up. We take one last look at the playground and see the image of Borsato fading. He was never there, existing only in the imagination of the little girl. It's actually rather sweet, check it out here.
The lyrics are here, in Dutch of course. But, as we all know Google (translation) is your friend. Well, more of an acquaintance in this case, because Google gets it wrong a few times. So here are the main points: no goodbye is forever, the dead are still connected to the loved ones they left behind and if needed they will come and help them through their grief.
The song is written from the viewpoint of a person who's about to die. The song is a promise to someone that he'll always be there if he or she needs him. Fluister mijn naam en ik kom er aan. "Just whisper my name, and I will come to you".
The sentiment of this song is a bit, well, trite, and the fact that absolutely everyone and their brother has heard this song played at a funeral doesn't exactly help. Still, there's one line in this song that's on my mind a lot these days. Zoek me in alles, dan kom je me tegen. "Look for me everywhere and you'll find me again".
It's a concept I'm struggling with. On the one hand I couldn't agree more. I do believe that love can build a bridge between the living and the dead. That a bond between two people can be so strong that death can only alter it, but not break it forever. And I want to believe that if you know what to look for you can encounter your loved ones in other people.
On the other hand it's a fine line between believing all that and silliness. I'm reminded of an episode of Friends where Phoebe was convinced that a stray cat harboured the soul of her dead mother. Sure, it was played for laughs, but what's the difference between flaky Phoebe's delusiosn and regular transference (me seeing my mum in other people).
I've seen glimpses of my mother in people I loved dearly. A good friend, a former boss, a life coach, my therapist, they all mirrored aspects of my mothers love. It's comforting but it also leaves you feeling very vulnerable in that kind of relationship. So it's a constant struggle.
But today it all became clear to me. I heard a voice telling me: "What's left of your mum isn't in other people, it's in you"!
So maybe, it's not so much a question of looking everywhere as looking deep inside yourself. My mum isn't gone forever, she's become a part of me.
Summer 2011: so far so good
As any George Michael fan, hell even George himself, will tell you, it's not always easy being a GM fan. You're always afraid of some new scandal lurking just around the corner.
These last few years especially, summers and autumns were not exactly fun if you happened to be a GM fan; George is forever doing naughty stuff - or getting punished for earlier naughty stuff - in those months.
Autumn 2006, summer 2007, autumn 2008 and summer 2009, all tough times for George and his fans.
I remember the car crash of summer 2009 vividly. My wife and I were in England at the time, enjoying our holiday at the Pegwell Bay Hotel in Ramsgate. (It's a lovely little hotel, I can't recommend it enough).
Anyway, every morning the staff laid out lots of tabloids in the breakfast room for the guests to read while waiting for the marvellous English breakfast they serve there. One morning I glanced at the tabloids and got a nasty shock. The news was of the crash was plastered all over the front page of the Sun and for one terrible second I thought George had been killed. Not a good way to start your day!
Well, what happened in summer 2010 and autumn 2010 is still painfully fresh in our minds. I guess it's still on his mind as well! Because he's been behaving beautifully, not a scandal in sight! It's like he's a new man. Great job, George and please keep it up.
Wouldn't it be lovely if come autumn 2011 George was once again in all the papers, but now for all the right reasons. Here's hoping for a wonderful tour and rave reviews.
These last few years especially, summers and autumns were not exactly fun if you happened to be a GM fan; George is forever doing naughty stuff - or getting punished for earlier naughty stuff - in those months.
Autumn 2006, summer 2007, autumn 2008 and summer 2009, all tough times for George and his fans.
I remember the car crash of summer 2009 vividly. My wife and I were in England at the time, enjoying our holiday at the Pegwell Bay Hotel in Ramsgate. (It's a lovely little hotel, I can't recommend it enough).
Anyway, every morning the staff laid out lots of tabloids in the breakfast room for the guests to read while waiting for the marvellous English breakfast they serve there. One morning I glanced at the tabloids and got a nasty shock. The news was of the crash was plastered all over the front page of the Sun and for one terrible second I thought George had been killed. Not a good way to start your day!
Well, what happened in summer 2010 and autumn 2010 is still painfully fresh in our minds. I guess it's still on his mind as well! Because he's been behaving beautifully, not a scandal in sight! It's like he's a new man. Great job, George and please keep it up.
Wouldn't it be lovely if come autumn 2011 George was once again in all the papers, but now for all the right reasons. Here's hoping for a wonderful tour and rave reviews.
George Michael: Miracle Worker
Well, as George Michael himself predicted not so long ago, his Symphonica Tour is going to be a success! You've got to hand it to him, he's a bit of a miracle worker.
Only George Michael can pull it of: announcing a new, long tour without any new material. I mean, I love December Song, adore his cover of True Faith and apparently his cover of You and I is great as well, but let's face it: one new song and two covers is not exactly new material.
So, with no new material, a 3 year tour fresh in people's mind and a new scandal or two behind him our man announces a new tour and is selling very nicely indeed!
Unbelievable, but that's our George. Bless him!
Only George Michael can pull it of: announcing a new, long tour without any new material. I mean, I love December Song, adore his cover of True Faith and apparently his cover of You and I is great as well, but let's face it: one new song and two covers is not exactly new material.
So, with no new material, a 3 year tour fresh in people's mind and a new scandal or two behind him our man announces a new tour and is selling very nicely indeed!
Unbelievable, but that's our George. Bless him!
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Silly headline: George is not gay!
My love of gossip is one of my many vices. I regularly visit sites with celebrity news. A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon this extraordinary headline: George is not a homosexual (Dutch: George is geen homo).
Imagine my surprise. George not gay? Really? You could've fooled me! What on earth could have happened? Did someone catch George on the Heath in a compromising embrace with a lady? Did Gerri finally turn him? My mind was awhirl with the possibilities.
A bit nervous I scanned the article and sighed with relief. I'm happy to report that all is well, George Michael is still as gay as a daffodil. The article was about that other famous George, everyone's favourite ER doc. Phew, close call!
Maybe there's hope
Well, maybe there is hope after all.
A few weeks ago George Michael reacted to the whole phone hacking scandal on twitter. Not a very wise thing to do perhaps. But after all the abuse he's had to endure by them and other tabloids over the years he'd have to been inhuman not to gloat a bit now they are the ones in trouble.
Anyway, of course his little rant was reported by the media, lazy journalism being alive and well. I was dreading the response of the 'general public'. Whenever there's a story about GM there always comments that amount to nothing more than barely disguised homophobia.
This time was no exception. But - and this is truly cause for celebration - for once people came to his defence Regular people, not rabid fans!
So maybe the winds are changing just a little bit. We've still got a long way to go but things are definitely changing.
A few weeks ago George Michael reacted to the whole phone hacking scandal on twitter. Not a very wise thing to do perhaps. But after all the abuse he's had to endure by them and other tabloids over the years he'd have to been inhuman not to gloat a bit now they are the ones in trouble.
Anyway, of course his little rant was reported by the media, lazy journalism being alive and well. I was dreading the response of the 'general public'. Whenever there's a story about GM there always comments that amount to nothing more than barely disguised homophobia.
This time was no exception. But - and this is truly cause for celebration - for once people came to his defence Regular people, not rabid fans!
So maybe the winds are changing just a little bit. We've still got a long way to go but things are definitely changing.
Why you shouldn't fall in love with your therapist
Therapeutic relationships are strange. Here is someone who knows more about you than your spouse, friends and family ever will (probably a good thing!). And yet you - the client - know just the bare minimum about them. You never have them over for a meal or listen to their problems and fears. All that is expected of you is that you pay them. At times money seemed far too little reward for having to listen to me going on and on about my issues. It's a bit unfair really.
While this one-sidedness is troubling in some aspects, it's so liberating in others. No 'what do you want?' and no 'are you sure this is OK with you'?' and certainly no 'tell me what's going wrong in your life'. Its all 'let's talk about me some more'!
That's why I honestly don't understand why people fall in love with their therapist and fantasize about starting a sexual relationship with them. And it's not like I don't understand about transference, I really do. I've been there, the feelings I had for my therapist ran so very deep they frightened the hell out of me.
But however much I loved my therapist, I was never 'in love'. Why on earth would I ever want to swap my safe therapeutic relationship for the uncertainty and heartache of a 'proper' relationship?
Everyone knows relationships are hard work and I've already got a marriage that takes up a lot of my time and energy. Why look for more work when you don't have to?
While this one-sidedness is troubling in some aspects, it's so liberating in others. No 'what do you want?' and no 'are you sure this is OK with you'?' and certainly no 'tell me what's going wrong in your life'. Its all 'let's talk about me some more'!
That's why I honestly don't understand why people fall in love with their therapist and fantasize about starting a sexual relationship with them. And it's not like I don't understand about transference, I really do. I've been there, the feelings I had for my therapist ran so very deep they frightened the hell out of me.
But however much I loved my therapist, I was never 'in love'. Why on earth would I ever want to swap my safe therapeutic relationship for the uncertainty and heartache of a 'proper' relationship?
Everyone knows relationships are hard work and I've already got a marriage that takes up a lot of my time and energy. Why look for more work when you don't have to?
Delight: In Treatment - season two
As far as I'm concerned, there's only one good way to watch a TV series: on DVD. No commercial breaks, no summer hiatus or reruns, just hour after hour of quality TV. This last month I've been enjoying season two of In Treatment.
I tried season one and didn't much care for it. But season two blew me away. I never really got the charms of Gabriel Byrne before. I knew him only as the controller in Nikita/Assassin and the devil in End of Days. Both roles not exactly designed to stretch his acting capabilities a whole lot past 'coasting'. Imagine my surprise when I saw him flexing his acting muscles in 'In Treatment'. Who knew?
I'm not so sure Paul Weston is a great therapist. The endless talking through of transference and counter-transference issues, well, I don't know. Then again, I've never been through psycho-analysis so what do I know.
What I loved most about Paul were his eyes, Gabriel Byrne gave Paul wonderfully warm eyes. The empathy and love he feels for his patients is all in his eyes.
April's storyline affected me the most; I cried pretty much all through her sessions in week 4 and week 7. And I actually cheered out loud when Paul crossed professional boundaries for her. I'm all for professionalism, but some things are just more important.
Also, April was so cute! That little round face with the big eyes. So adorable, I just wanted to pick her up and take her home. The character, not the actress of course.
Also, April was so cute! That little round face with the big eyes. So adorable, I just wanted to pick her up and take her home. The character, not the actress of course.
Walter's storyline I found extremely moving too. I had no idea Mahoney was that good an actor, having seen him only in the odd episode of Frasier. Some of the reviews of this season at the time were sceptical about Walter's emotional breakthrough in episode 6, and his reaching out for Paul in his pain. Both rang totally true for me, I've been there.
It's incredibly painful when the walls you've so carefully been building to shield you from your own pain come crashing down. No place left to hide.
Also his childlike reaching out for Paul was - in my mind at least - a wonderful acting choice. It's exactly what I longed to do when I got stuck in my own place of pain. It's about wanting to be connected I guess.
And poor Oliver! Whatever little mistakes my parents made with me, at least they sure as hell were proper adults. Which can't be said for Bess and Luke, trapped in lives they clearly didn't want. I felt sorry for them, but of course Oliver was the real victim here. None of it was his fault. But I'd like to think that in the 'In Treatment universe' Paul and Oliver enjoyed lots of lovely phone calls until Oliver made some new friends at school.
I also liked Mia's storyline. Hope Davis, what an amazing actress she is. Mia is not an easy character to like, with all her acting out. In the hands of a lesser actress she probably would've ended up a ridiculous and one-dimensional character. Hope Davis plays her with so much much compassion, that you can't help but feel sorry for this woman, so crushed by life. There but for the grace of God and all that.
Hope Davis shows us a glimpse now and then of the woman Mia could have been if she hadn't been so hurt by her parents. I especially loved the moment when Mia realised that Paul had kept the gift she gave him for all those years. That smile really transformed her face. Great acting.
Monday, 1 August 2011
Missing my mum
Today is not a good day and I feel so very sad. Grief can do that to you. One day you''ll feel reasonably well and you tell yourself: I'll get through this, and I'll come out of this a stronger person".
The next day you're in a dark, locked room. It's so cold in there and there are unspeakable terrors all around you and you just know that you will never, ever get out of there.
My mother is dead. She died a long time ago, when I was just a baby. Sometimes I miss her so much, my body literally aches.
A voice inside me cries out in grief: "Where are you, mum? Why did you die and leave me all alone in this cold word? Living here without you is just too hard for me.
There are no answers, only silence. And my inner child is inconsolable. She misses her mum. I miss my mum. I don't know what to do to help this crying little girl inside of me, we are both so sad. And lonely, forever lonely.
Thank God tomorrow is another day.
The next day you're in a dark, locked room. It's so cold in there and there are unspeakable terrors all around you and you just know that you will never, ever get out of there.
My mother is dead. She died a long time ago, when I was just a baby. Sometimes I miss her so much, my body literally aches.
A voice inside me cries out in grief: "Where are you, mum? Why did you die and leave me all alone in this cold word? Living here without you is just too hard for me.
There are no answers, only silence. And my inner child is inconsolable. She misses her mum. I miss my mum. I don't know what to do to help this crying little girl inside of me, we are both so sad. And lonely, forever lonely.
Thank God tomorrow is another day.
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