Belgians are of two physical types

Having tossed me this personal-narrative bone, van Lierde strips down to his swimsuit. The Belgians, it has been said, are of two distinct physical types: the ample, rosy burghers famously depicted by Rubens, and the wraithlike subjects of van Gogh. Stomping around in rubber boots, complacently hosing down the pool deck, Damien van Houck appears pure Rubens. Lean and rope-muscled, his hair a severe black skullcap, van Lierde seems van Gogh to the core.

John Brant profiles Luc Van Lierde in Outside Magazine, November 1997.

Raise your hand if you remember this

the sound of prehistoric internet access, aka the sound of free porn the information highway

[H/T: lazylaces.com]

Things fall apart and tend to shatter

If you are worried ’bout where
I been or who I saw or
what club I went to with my homies
baby don’t worry you know that you got me

This a blog post about a track that hits home.

we knew from the start that
things fall apart, and tend to shatter
she like, that shit don’t matter

The track appears on the Roots’ Things Fall Apart album.

now she in my world like hip-hop

It features guest vocals by Erykah Badu and Eve.

But sometimes relationships get ill

No doubt.

The Roots ft. Erykah Badu & Eve – You got me (Geffen/MCA, 1999)

video – audio

Having a language is like having access

to a very large canvas and to hundreds or even thousands of colors. But the canvas and the colors come from the past. They are hand-me-downs. As we learn to use them, we find out that those around us have strong ideas about what can be drawn, in which proportions, in what combinations, and for what purposes. As any artist knows, there is an ethics of drawing and coloring as well as a market that will react sometimes capriciously, but many times quite predictably to any individual attempts to place a mark in the history or representation or simply readjust the proportions of certain spaces at the margins … Just like art-works, our linguistic products are constantly evaluated, recycled or discarded.

Alessandro Duranti (1997) Linguistic Anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 334.

“used crayons” by chromatofobe @ Flickr.com

Bubbly, delightfully obscure ditties

I’ve been anticipating the release of Brownswood Bubblers 4 for quite some time now and here it is now, available on Brownswood and iTunes. De-lish.

Forging ahead with the Bubblers series, Brownswood Recordings are proud to present another awe-inspiring assortment of delightfully obscure ditties and underground heaters that have been clogging Gilles’ record bag and radio playlists of late. Kicking off with the honey-coated Motor City soul vibes purveyed by Mayer Hawthorne on ‘Maybe So Maybe No’ and weaving a path through to Lone’s lush, widescreen beatscape ‘Sea Spray’. This is Gilles Peterson in his element – flitting between Oumou Sangaré’s soaring African melodies, Maryland beatmaker yU’s coarsely chopped hip hop soul, El Michels Affair reworking classic ODB material for the jazz headz, New Look’s spine-tingling electro pop, and the rich sub low cinematics of Floating Points.

More from Gilles Peterson at KSPACE.TV. Also recommended: Lefto’s mix.

Hunter S. Thompson’s Puerto Rico

The Rum Diary. Escapism at its best. Never fails to capture my imagination.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

[H/T: Totally Gonzo]

Welcome to the mental health hotline

Friends, family and colleagues often inquire about the progress of my PhD. When will you submit? Why are you losing so much hair? You look stressed out. How come? In my mind, I often contemplate random acts of violence but mostly reply with a polite feline hissing sound. Maybe I should try the mental health hotline.

[H/T: on-point.be]

Visions of violet: Chalten Chardonnay 07

Here it is: my favorite white wine of the year. A José Jamesesque chardonnay. Personality. Originality. Flavor. Street credibility. All that and then some from a cool Patagonian mountain range. This wine beats the summer heat any day. Available in Belgium at De Heerlyckheid in Berchem. Aloxe recommended.

Coming to you live: DiO conf. program

I’m pleased to announce that the conference program for the 2nd International Workshop on Discourse in Organizations (DiO) (disclaimer: I’m a founding member of DiO) is now live. This three day workshop features two keynote lectures, eleven plenary paper presentations and a PhD Colloquium in collaboration with the Association of Business Communication. If you’re interested in attending the workshop, please take a look at the registration page.

A boy amongst men: Alistair Brownlee

I have just witnessed the coming of age of Alistair Brownlee at the London ITU Olympic distance triathlon. He won the race in a blistering 1:41:50, his fourth consecutive ITU win. Phenomenal. How he manages to squeeze out that kind of power from his 11-year-old physique is beyond me.