Today I saw an episode of the Oprah Winfrey show and there was a very inspiring interior designer in her show. I saw him there before, but as I had very little intresting in Interior Design I didn't watch it properly. But this time I did and bpy, was this man inspiring. Nate Berkus gave some houses a complete make over. I got a lot of inspiration from him. Not as much as I get from Anna Parker, who remains my favorite interior designer, but he had some good tips for small houses. I find both Anna and Nate very inspiring, but the bad thing is that they cost me a lot of money (lol).
http://www.nateberkus.com/
vrijdag 30 januari 2009
The Duchess
I bought the book when I was in London last month and I took my time to read it. It is a very interesting book I must say. Parts did read pretty fast, but some took forever. The writer took her time to describe a lot. Not only the life of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, but also the politics from that time. Very interesting, but sometimes a bit long to read. I am very curious about the film now. It has been in the cinemas here with Keira Knightley in the leading role. The menage a trois from Georgiana, The Duke and their friend Bess was very intriguing, but one part bothered me a bit. When Bess had the Dukes child no one said something about it, but when Georgiana had the Earl of Grey's child, they were all in an uproar. It might have been the time, but I think it is disturbing. It felt like men could and can do everything while women couldn't and can't. In all it is a nice read and I recommand the book to all who are interested in biographies. It is a nice and intriguing book with a good view of the life lead by the "ton" at the time.
woensdag 28 januari 2009
Interior design
Since a few months I am very interested in interior design. I never liked things like it, but lately I saw some very nice things that I want to try in my new flat. I move over a few years and maybe my ideas have changed by then, but right now I discovered a British interior designer called Anna Parker. I met her a few years ago, without knowing that she would be such an inspiration for me now. Anna's house is used for photoshoots for a lot of Britihs magazines and I must say that she keeps on surprising me by making subtile changes in her interior. Anna really is an inspiration for me and made me warm for interior design. I am not good at decorating myself, but I have some help and I am sure that I can find my own style one day. Her house looks very homy to me and that is what I really like. I find my inspirations in Homes and Gardens and Living ETC. I can get the last one only when I am in London as the magazine is not avaliable here. Too bad, as I really like the magazine a lot. It is much better than the magazines we have here. I am just at the start of the designer thing, but I am getting a lot of inspiration already.
P and P Interiors; 07956 404965
maandag 19 januari 2009
Jim Henson and Charles Dickens
They do have nothing in common, Jim Henson and Charles Dickens and still they do. First of all Brian Henson (Jim's son) made a wonderful version of the Christmas Carol called The Muppets Christmas Carol, and second of all they have my childhood in common. I always loved the Muppet Show and I still see myself in my pyjama's, with wet, combed hair and a bit of crisps on the couch watching Kermit and his friends. It was in English, but I never had any problems with it. There were always subtitles and I was a very good and fast reader, even at a very young age. I always had a laugh with Waldorf and Statler when they made their comments from their balcony. My altime favorites were Animal and the Swedish Chef, my favorite episodes were with Danny Kaye (an actor I admire) and Vincent Price. Ofcourse there were many shows and many guests but these I loved best. The funny thing is that they are still good. When I watch them now a days, I still laugh and it is still funny. At Christmas time there always was the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens on TV. I was always fascinated with the story and at a later age I started to read Dickens books in English. I think that Dickens is one of the writers you should read in English. If I read his stories in Dutch, the meaning of his words get lost.
When I was in London some years ago I visted the Dickens House. It is a wonderful house in London and it was great to walk into his footsteps. The house has a very impressive library. At the time I visited there was a lovely old lady there and we had a good chat about Dickens and his book. It was great to be able to visit the house. Every time I go to London I try to bring back a Dickens book. So far, I've collected a lot of them.
A few years ago I had the chance to visit a TV studio in Amsterdam. There was an interview with Brian Henson about the Muppets Christmas Carol. It was great and Brian was very nice. He brought the Storytellers Dog with him (also one of my favorite characters). One thing I do regret and if there is one day in my life I want to do over again it is this day. I didn't bring my photocamera as I didn't think they allow people to make pictures. After the taping Brian took all the time in the world to answer questions of fans and have his and the dogs picture taken. I didn't dare to ask some one to take mine (and have it send to me later), and now I regret it. Brian was really nice and the dog was big fun. I even had a chat with him. The Storyteller is a wonderful series of 9 tales, told by John Hurt (another fabulous actor) to his dog. It is out as a 3 set DVD series and if you like fairytales, you will love this. I didn't like the other series about the Greek stories, but the ones with John Hurt are really wonderful.
2 people who are already dead and who I admire dearly. Jim Henson and Charles Dickens, 2 people who have nothing in common, but still I love to read their books and see their shows
http://www.dickensmuseum.com/
http://www.henson.com/
When I was in London some years ago I visted the Dickens House. It is a wonderful house in London and it was great to walk into his footsteps. The house has a very impressive library. At the time I visited there was a lovely old lady there and we had a good chat about Dickens and his book. It was great to be able to visit the house. Every time I go to London I try to bring back a Dickens book. So far, I've collected a lot of them.
A few years ago I had the chance to visit a TV studio in Amsterdam. There was an interview with Brian Henson about the Muppets Christmas Carol. It was great and Brian was very nice. He brought the Storytellers Dog with him (also one of my favorite characters). One thing I do regret and if there is one day in my life I want to do over again it is this day. I didn't bring my photocamera as I didn't think they allow people to make pictures. After the taping Brian took all the time in the world to answer questions of fans and have his and the dogs picture taken. I didn't dare to ask some one to take mine (and have it send to me later), and now I regret it. Brian was really nice and the dog was big fun. I even had a chat with him. The Storyteller is a wonderful series of 9 tales, told by John Hurt (another fabulous actor) to his dog. It is out as a 3 set DVD series and if you like fairytales, you will love this. I didn't like the other series about the Greek stories, but the ones with John Hurt are really wonderful.
2 people who are already dead and who I admire dearly. Jim Henson and Charles Dickens, 2 people who have nothing in common, but still I love to read their books and see their shows
http://www.dickensmuseum.com/
http://www.henson.com/
zondag 18 januari 2009
London
The first time I visited London I was 16 or 17 years old. I know that my then friend and I spend all our time in recordshops to find stuff on Duran Duran. For the rest I remember the boat trip that made me sick and decide to never go to England by boat again. I went another few times with other friends for concerts of Duran Duran. But a few years ago I wanted to see London in Christmas time. 5 years ago I went to London on my own and I saw a lot of the city. Walking through a town is the best way to get to know a town. Since then I go every Christmas time to shop, see films and to walk around. I also try to go to London some other times of the year. One time I discovered the Regal Room, which is a small concert venue where talented singer songwriters sing and play their new songs. I also discovered Hampton court Palace, Camden, Leicester Square, Oxford Steet and Regent Street. Some nice shops I discovered are GAP, Accecoires and Boots. I realy like visiting London. I go by Eurostar and one sometimes by plane. I prefer to go by Eurostar as you arrive in the middle of the city. 2 years ago I won a competition and won tickets for the European Stardust premiere and a stay in London. I had an amazing time and it was nice to walk the red carpet. London really is one of my favorite cities and I love to visit it every year. It is always funny to see how the people behave in the subway. Everything is so organized. If I try to catch a train here on another platform, I miss it for sure as nobody gives you space to move. It made me see that Dutch people really don't know how to behave in situations like that. Same goes for trains. Everybody waits untill the passengers are out of the train. Here they love to come in, while you still have to get out. Ofcourse there bad things about London too, but I haven't seen them yet. I think that London really is a brilliant place to visit. You can shop till you drop, visit museums, parcs and lots of other things. The theatres have good musicals and the biggest stars hit the stage in London. London really has a special place in my heart. One of my favorite places in London is the National Portrait Gallery. It is really wonderful to see portraits through the ages. Another thing I love to do is walk. My favorite walk goes from Westminster to the South bank. I walk from Trafalger Square to the Big Ben. From there I cross the bridge and descent to walk towards the London Eye. From there on I can walk miles forever and there is always a tube station close by. Or a bridge that takes you back to the other side of the river. I am looking forward to my next visit.
donderdag 15 januari 2009
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries and other crimedramas
When I was young my grandparents always watched German Dramas like Der Alte, Tatort and Derreck. I never liked this kind of series as they were a bit bloody. I don't like to see that kind of series. I was very young at the time and they also never let me watch with them as I always knew who did it. The same thing happened when my sister and I watched Baantjer, a very populair Dutch crime drama. I always made jokes about who did it and I ended up having it right 9 times out of 10. I never watched and crimedramas ever since. Then I discovered Nathaniel Parker and I found out that he played in a British crimedrama called The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. The first episode I saw was A Suitable Vengeance and I loved it. Not only I saw Nathaniel Parker, but I loved the story and the plot. The most important thing was that they didn't show any blood or how the murder was committed. I became a fan of the series. Then I started to look around for other series and discovered Midsomer Murders and Frost. The last one was an eye opener for me. I had no idea about the character and the actors in the series but I started to watch an episode when it was on TV. It was like I was looking in a mirror and found an older and male version of myself. I loved Frost from the moment I saw him. Not the looks, but the character. Lynely has both the good looks and the character, but Frost was really wonderful. The way he treats his boss Mr Mullet was just hilarious. And George Toolan was a nice bonus. My altime favorite Frost episode is No Other Love. That one has it all. The end is very sad as one of his colleagues is murdered. The way they filmed that was like I never saw before. At first I thought it was Frot himself that was killed, but it was poor Clive Barnhard that was killed. Another great episode is when Frost has to look after a dog called Kai. He and Kai make a very good team.
Unfortunatly for me Frost is going to end this year. David Jason is 68, and there is nothing wrong with that, but one time it has to come to an end. I am sure they make a wonderful episode of it. Less can be said of the final Lynley episodes. They are very good and gripping, but the BBC announced the end of the series so they were never able to make a proper ending to the series. It is too bad that the BBC is cutting Lynley and spending their money on other things. I understand that it is expencive to make these series, but they make a lot of money for the BBC too. Lynley was one of the best sold series to foreign countries. It is very scary to read my own thoghts on Lynley in interviews by Nathaniel Parker. I discussed the end of the series, and before that the lack of promotion by the BBC for the series with friends. I was deeply dissatisfied with the way the BBC treated the series. Never a cover on the RadioTimes, while they have 20 Doctor Who covers a year (if not more). They didn't do anything to promote the last series. I was very surprised to see my own words coming out of the mouth of my favorite actor. When I met Nathaniel in May last year I asked him if he was able to read minds. I told him that we have the excact same thoughts about this. It gave him a good laugh. Due to lack of information on the Lynley series I decided to start my own website for the series. After some problems I am working on the site for 2 years now and it has over 30.000 visitors. I place a lot of information on the series there, but also on Nathaniel and Sharon Small, the leading actors of the series. Nathaniel is very happy with the suport as he thanked me for it when I met him in Windsor. I am more than happy to have the site up. The series might have ended, but the site keeps going on. The only crimedrama that is left for me is Midsomer Murders and I hope that John Nettles stays in very good health and don't decide to stop the series. I have DVD's of all the series, but it is always nice to see my favorite crimedramas on TV. The BBC waste its money now on programs that are really rubish in my opinion. I think it is better to put some money in a good crimedrama than in a 13 in a dozen show. I prefer to see a good film or crimedrama, and I don't want to see skating with the stars, dancing with the stars, shopping with the stars and whatever they call these programmes. I always liked the BBC for their good drama series, but it seems that they have given up on most of them. At least the good crimedramas. The other dramas like Cranford, Bleak House and Little Dorrit were wonderful and I hope they go on with that. For the many fans of the Lynley series I send the link to my Lynley fansite.
http://www.theinspectorlynleymysteries.net/
Unfortunatly for me Frost is going to end this year. David Jason is 68, and there is nothing wrong with that, but one time it has to come to an end. I am sure they make a wonderful episode of it. Less can be said of the final Lynley episodes. They are very good and gripping, but the BBC announced the end of the series so they were never able to make a proper ending to the series. It is too bad that the BBC is cutting Lynley and spending their money on other things. I understand that it is expencive to make these series, but they make a lot of money for the BBC too. Lynley was one of the best sold series to foreign countries. It is very scary to read my own thoghts on Lynley in interviews by Nathaniel Parker. I discussed the end of the series, and before that the lack of promotion by the BBC for the series with friends. I was deeply dissatisfied with the way the BBC treated the series. Never a cover on the RadioTimes, while they have 20 Doctor Who covers a year (if not more). They didn't do anything to promote the last series. I was very surprised to see my own words coming out of the mouth of my favorite actor. When I met Nathaniel in May last year I asked him if he was able to read minds. I told him that we have the excact same thoughts about this. It gave him a good laugh. Due to lack of information on the Lynley series I decided to start my own website for the series. After some problems I am working on the site for 2 years now and it has over 30.000 visitors. I place a lot of information on the series there, but also on Nathaniel and Sharon Small, the leading actors of the series. Nathaniel is very happy with the suport as he thanked me for it when I met him in Windsor. I am more than happy to have the site up. The series might have ended, but the site keeps going on. The only crimedrama that is left for me is Midsomer Murders and I hope that John Nettles stays in very good health and don't decide to stop the series. I have DVD's of all the series, but it is always nice to see my favorite crimedramas on TV. The BBC waste its money now on programs that are really rubish in my opinion. I think it is better to put some money in a good crimedrama than in a 13 in a dozen show. I prefer to see a good film or crimedrama, and I don't want to see skating with the stars, dancing with the stars, shopping with the stars and whatever they call these programmes. I always liked the BBC for their good drama series, but it seems that they have given up on most of them. At least the good crimedramas. The other dramas like Cranford, Bleak House and Little Dorrit were wonderful and I hope they go on with that. For the many fans of the Lynley series I send the link to my Lynley fansite.
http://www.theinspectorlynleymysteries.net/
zondag 11 januari 2009
The portrait of Dorian Gray
I finished the book last night and I must say that I loved it. It was well written and I could see everything very clearly in my imagination. I could see the pain of Dorian. The only thing that bothered me was that the phrases were long, too long sometimes. For the rest I have no comments at all on the book. I wonder why it was such a scandalous book at the time it came out. I guess it has to do with the time the people lived in. I am really looking forward to see the Oliver Parker film about the book now. I have to wait a while for that, but that is fine with me. I am sure he does a good job with this one. This book became one of my favorites and I am sure that I read it again. Now I read the Dutch version and I am looking forward to read it in the original language too. Most of the times that is even better than a translation as the meaning of the author doesn't get lost. I hope it arrives soon.
donderdag 8 januari 2009
Change of habit
I never cared much for clothing, make up and jewlry. All I ever wore were jeans, a t-shirt and shoes. You could draw me out, as we say in Holland, in these kind of clothing. Very comfortable and I didn't have to think about what to wear. I wore the same anyway. I saw women who got up very early, just to do their make up. I thought they were all out of their mind. I still think so though, but I am happy we are not all the same. It all changed 1 or maybe 2 years ago. I am a fan of Mylene Farmer and I loved her style of clothing, but it was a bit to much for me. I am also very fond of a former actress, now interior designer called Anna Patrick (people in the UK can still see her from time to time in the series Maisie Raine). When I saw pictures of Anna I was always drawn to her style of clothes. It came closer to what I like. I also met a dear friend that inspired me on very simple combinations. I also discovered the GAP in London. We don't have that store in the Netherlands. I bought a few things there and everybody here loved the clothes I got there. Last time I was in London for Christmas shopping I left the GAP with two bags of clothes. I am sure they are happy to see me back this summer. I like my style a bit gypsy and feminine. I am blessed with a figure like Keira Knightley and Anna Patrick, skinny and tall (Anna that is). It is hard to get clothes here as the sleeves are to short for me most of the time. With GAP clothes they are even to long for me. Not much, but I really like it. I hope they will open stores in Holland too one day. I will be the first customer to buy there for sure.
When it comes to make up I discoverd some nice things in Paris a few years ago. The make up style of Keira Knightly in Pride and Prejudice seemed ideal to me. I want to wear make up you don't see. A very natural kind. In Gallery LaFayette they helped me very kindly and I was lucky that there was a soldes at the moment, so I got some Revlon and L'Oreal stuff with discount. I am still expiering with it, but only natural coulours. I bought some cheper make up too, but I really see the difference between cheap make up and make up that cost a bit more. So I prefer to buy more expencive make up that stick on my face the whole day if needed. In the Netherlands I discovered Douglas, a wonderful store where you can buy all kinds of make up and perfumes. I like Burberry, J'Adore (Dior) and Madame (Jean Paul Gaultier) very much. the nice thing with Douglas is that they give you samples of new perfumes when you buy something there so you can try them at home. The perfumes I like are not cheap, but they are worth it. I am sure that there are more good ones, but these are the ones I like. I can't stand anything from Gloria Vanderbildt. When I wear that perfume everybody tells me that I smell very bad, so I used it twice and that was it. I like my perfume a bit flowery.
I was also never interested in jewlery. In my youth there was a group of women called Dolly Dots and they always had wonderful earrings, so I got earrings when I was 12 or 13. I never did much with it to be honest. But again, Anna Patrick showed me how to wear nice jewlry. Also my dear friend Jill was an eye opener in London last month. She introduced me to Accecoires. That was a very wrong thing to do, as I didn't stop shopping there either. It seems that they are on every London streetcorner. Oxford street is a very dangerous street for me as it has many Accecoires shops and GAP's. In Holland I visit Claire's regulary and the new thing is a Pandora bracelet. You just buy the bracelet and friends or family can buy charms for the bracelet. Ofcourse you can buy them yourself too. I thought they were a Dutch invention, but I just found out that they are an international branch.
For some reason I changed when it comes to clothing, make up and jewlery. I guess it has something to do with the things that happened in my life lately. I have been dealing with some heavy things and I am well on my way to recovery from them. If you are curious about the clothes, jewlery, perfumes and make up I like, you can click on the following links.
http://www.pandorauk.com/
http://pandorasite.nl/
http://www.douglas.nl/
http://www.gap.com/
http://uk.burberry.com/
When it comes to make up I discoverd some nice things in Paris a few years ago. The make up style of Keira Knightly in Pride and Prejudice seemed ideal to me. I want to wear make up you don't see. A very natural kind. In Gallery LaFayette they helped me very kindly and I was lucky that there was a soldes at the moment, so I got some Revlon and L'Oreal stuff with discount. I am still expiering with it, but only natural coulours. I bought some cheper make up too, but I really see the difference between cheap make up and make up that cost a bit more. So I prefer to buy more expencive make up that stick on my face the whole day if needed. In the Netherlands I discovered Douglas, a wonderful store where you can buy all kinds of make up and perfumes. I like Burberry, J'Adore (Dior) and Madame (Jean Paul Gaultier) very much. the nice thing with Douglas is that they give you samples of new perfumes when you buy something there so you can try them at home. The perfumes I like are not cheap, but they are worth it. I am sure that there are more good ones, but these are the ones I like. I can't stand anything from Gloria Vanderbildt. When I wear that perfume everybody tells me that I smell very bad, so I used it twice and that was it. I like my perfume a bit flowery.
I was also never interested in jewlery. In my youth there was a group of women called Dolly Dots and they always had wonderful earrings, so I got earrings when I was 12 or 13. I never did much with it to be honest. But again, Anna Patrick showed me how to wear nice jewlry. Also my dear friend Jill was an eye opener in London last month. She introduced me to Accecoires. That was a very wrong thing to do, as I didn't stop shopping there either. It seems that they are on every London streetcorner. Oxford street is a very dangerous street for me as it has many Accecoires shops and GAP's. In Holland I visit Claire's regulary and the new thing is a Pandora bracelet. You just buy the bracelet and friends or family can buy charms for the bracelet. Ofcourse you can buy them yourself too. I thought they were a Dutch invention, but I just found out that they are an international branch.
For some reason I changed when it comes to clothing, make up and jewlery. I guess it has something to do with the things that happened in my life lately. I have been dealing with some heavy things and I am well on my way to recovery from them. If you are curious about the clothes, jewlery, perfumes and make up I like, you can click on the following links.
http://www.pandorauk.com/
http://pandorasite.nl/
http://www.douglas.nl/
http://www.gap.com/
http://uk.burberry.com/
woensdag 7 januari 2009
Favorite books
Since I was a child I love to read. My mother told me that I was born with a book in my hands and with a headset on my ears, as I also love to listen to music. When I was young I read all the books about the Famous Five by Enid Blyton. Later on my intrest was elsewhere. the last few years I read a lot of books in English, also because I like a lot of English/American writers, and I think the best way to read a book is in the original language. I always feel that the soul steps out of the book when it is translated in other languages. The little jokes in the book don't work really good if they are translated. I read a lot of books both in English and Dutch as I want to see how the translater did the work. They did a great job when it comes to the Harry Potter books. They were translated good. I started to read these when I saw everybody around me reading them. There must have been something special about them. If I am not sure to buy a book or not, I always go to the bookstore and open the book somewhere halfway and start reading a page or two. If I like the styl I buy it and if I don't I put it back. I did like the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings books, so they are in my possession, in both English and Dutch.
There is one favorite that I can read over and over again. Pride and Prejudice is a wonderful book for me and when I finished it for the first time, I started again. It is very well written and it is just a wonderful book. I tried to read more Jane Austen books, but they were not my kind of thing. Two writers I really admire are Charles Dickens and Neil Gaiman. When I was young I saw Oliver Twist on TV and I was very impressed. Some years later I bought the book and since then I try to buy a Charles Dickens book every time I visit London. Bleak House is one of my favorites. The BBC made a series of it with Nathaniel Parker, Charles Dance (who was a very scary Mr Tulkinghorn) and other great actors. At the moment I am reading Little Dorrit, and it is wonderful. I visited the Charles Dickens house in London once and it was fantastic to walk around there.Neil Gaiman I got to know through the film Stardust. After seeing the film I read the book and got curious about other books he wrote. My favorite so far are Anansi Boys and Neverwhere. I love the sence of humour Neil has and the sort of macabre atmosphere in the books.
Other authors I like are Elizabeth George, JK Rowling, Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde. Elizabeth George is the author of the Inspector Lynley books. Ofcourse everybody knows JK Rowling for her Harry Potter books. I am curious what the future will bring now these series has come to an ending. Shakespeare is a bit hard to read, but if I take my time I get there. Oscar Wilde is someone I discovered just lately. As I mentioned in another blog, I was always fascinated by the story about Dorian Gray and now I have the Dutch Version.
I also like to read biographies and the one from Jay Leno, which I bought in Nashville a few years back is the best one. I tried to read it on a flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam but I had to stop. It was so funny that I had to laugh, while everybody around me was sleeping. I didn't want to wake them up so I put the book aside. I read it from time to time and I still have to laugh if I read "Leading with my chin". Jay has a very nice style of writing and some pictures are funny too. I like Jay as talkshow host, and this book showed me that he was funny when he was young.
Many books I read lately I discovered with many thanks to films or TV series with my favorite actor Nathaniel Parker. He played in some TV drama's as Vanity Fair and Far From The Madding Crowd. They showed me what a wonderful actor he is, but I also got very curious about the books, so I bought them aswell.
As for audiobooks, I was never interested in them, untill I got to know that Nathaniel Parker read a lot of them. I collect his audiobooks now and it is a pleasure to listen to them. My favorite is The Water Horse. It is a children's book, but so well read. I hear the fun in his voice. It always makes me smile to listen to that audiobook. I have a lot of Nathaniel's audiobooks on 2 MP3 players and when I have a long travel by train they are a treat for the ear. When I ride my bike I can't listen to them as the cars and other trafic makes so much noise that I can't hear Nathaniel speak, so I save the audiobooks for long travels. And with many thanks to some friends I keep on discovering new authors and books. And I am more than happy with that.
There is one favorite that I can read over and over again. Pride and Prejudice is a wonderful book for me and when I finished it for the first time, I started again. It is very well written and it is just a wonderful book. I tried to read more Jane Austen books, but they were not my kind of thing. Two writers I really admire are Charles Dickens and Neil Gaiman. When I was young I saw Oliver Twist on TV and I was very impressed. Some years later I bought the book and since then I try to buy a Charles Dickens book every time I visit London. Bleak House is one of my favorites. The BBC made a series of it with Nathaniel Parker, Charles Dance (who was a very scary Mr Tulkinghorn) and other great actors. At the moment I am reading Little Dorrit, and it is wonderful. I visited the Charles Dickens house in London once and it was fantastic to walk around there.Neil Gaiman I got to know through the film Stardust. After seeing the film I read the book and got curious about other books he wrote. My favorite so far are Anansi Boys and Neverwhere. I love the sence of humour Neil has and the sort of macabre atmosphere in the books.
Other authors I like are Elizabeth George, JK Rowling, Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde. Elizabeth George is the author of the Inspector Lynley books. Ofcourse everybody knows JK Rowling for her Harry Potter books. I am curious what the future will bring now these series has come to an ending. Shakespeare is a bit hard to read, but if I take my time I get there. Oscar Wilde is someone I discovered just lately. As I mentioned in another blog, I was always fascinated by the story about Dorian Gray and now I have the Dutch Version.
I also like to read biographies and the one from Jay Leno, which I bought in Nashville a few years back is the best one. I tried to read it on a flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam but I had to stop. It was so funny that I had to laugh, while everybody around me was sleeping. I didn't want to wake them up so I put the book aside. I read it from time to time and I still have to laugh if I read "Leading with my chin". Jay has a very nice style of writing and some pictures are funny too. I like Jay as talkshow host, and this book showed me that he was funny when he was young.
Many books I read lately I discovered with many thanks to films or TV series with my favorite actor Nathaniel Parker. He played in some TV drama's as Vanity Fair and Far From The Madding Crowd. They showed me what a wonderful actor he is, but I also got very curious about the books, so I bought them aswell.
As for audiobooks, I was never interested in them, untill I got to know that Nathaniel Parker read a lot of them. I collect his audiobooks now and it is a pleasure to listen to them. My favorite is The Water Horse. It is a children's book, but so well read. I hear the fun in his voice. It always makes me smile to listen to that audiobook. I have a lot of Nathaniel's audiobooks on 2 MP3 players and when I have a long travel by train they are a treat for the ear. When I ride my bike I can't listen to them as the cars and other trafic makes so much noise that I can't hear Nathaniel speak, so I save the audiobooks for long travels. And with many thanks to some friends I keep on discovering new authors and books. And I am more than happy with that.
dinsdag 6 januari 2009
Mylene Farmer
Somewhere in the early 90 I listened to the radio and I heard a catchy song that I didn't understand at all. I knew it was French and that was it. I soon found out that it was a Frnech singer called Mylene Farmer. I went to the library and rented the CD that was out at the time (L'Aurtre). It was a nice cd with a few nice songs. I copied the CD to cassette and listened to it a lot. After a while I forgot about Mylene. In the summer of 1996 I worked for a few months in Disneyland Paris and early 1997 some friends showed me a Live CD from a singer from France. They asked me if I ever heard of her. It was a CD from Mylene (Live a Bercy) and I was attracted by the design of the CD and I remembered the song Desenchantee from my old cassette. I was in Paris and I bought the CD and Video (as I didn't have a DVD player at the time). of the concert. I was totally blown away by the show. I started to collect all Mylene's CD's and video's. I also found some magazines dedicated to Mylene.
In 1999 she did the Mylenium tour and I thought it was time to see Mylene live. I gave myself a belated birthday present and went to Bercy for a concert. It was amazing. I still remember the head on the stage that opened. Mylene flew out of it. I couldn't believe that I was at a concert, and I was flabagasted. I really enjoyed the show. Mylene doesn't have a powerful voice. I like it very much but I can't really sing along with her as I always end up with a soar throat. But her dancing was just wonderful. I also went to Brussels twice for a concert. It was something you hardly see. It was a great shows with costume changes, dancers, a great band and a wonderful light show.
In 2005 Avant Que L'ombre came out and a series of concerts in Bercy was announced. The prices were way to high for me. And the concerts were sold out faster that I could speel Mylene's name. But I went to Antwerp to buy the CD. I noticed that the FNAC still had tickets left for the series of concerts. I gave it a try and I got the cheapest ticket that still costed me 60 Euro's (The most expencive tickets were 132 Euro). In January 2006 I went to the concert and it was fabulous. I had a great seat, front row on the right of the stage. I could see everything prefect. The only bad thing for me was the film that was shown before the concert. It was a sort of Chinese film or Japanese and I didn't understand it. It was also way to long for me. I was more than happy to see it end. I called my mother to tell her that I had a good seat, and one of the people that were below me, in the backstage area, looked up. When I ended my phonecall he asked me what someone from Holland was doing here. I told him that I loved Mylene's music and asked him what he was doing there. Mylene had 2 stages with moving things on it and these moving things didn't work properly. She hired a company from Holland to put these things on stage and this man was trying to fix the error. He never heard of Mylene and I told him that she is an artist you love or hate. There is no way in between. The show was wonderful and Mylene looke stunning. Time really flew and it was great to see her life.
In 2008 she brought out a new CD called Point De Suture and when I heard the first single, Degeneration, I was very disappointed to hear it. The melody was catchy and that was it. I bought the CD anyway and was pleasantly surprised. It was a good CD except for the first and the last song of the CD. Mylene also announced some new concerts, but this time in stadiums. the prices this time are really to high for me and I don't like stadium concerts. For me they are to big, I want to see the singer or band on stage and in a stadium you hardly see anything, is my experience. So I miss the concerts this year. I am sure Mylene will make a DVD of it so I can see it anyway. I really think it is too bad that the prices has to be so high. Mylene is one of the best sold artists in France and she is well known in France, Canada and even in Russia and other countries around the world.
Mylene hardly gives interviews or does TV shows. Her video clips are minifilms and can be seen on You Tube and various other sites. Mylene is my favorite French singer. I like others like Marc Lavoine, Alain Souchon, Julien Clerc and Zazie, but I prefer to listen to Mylene.
More on Mylene can be found here: http://www.mylene.net/, http://www.innamoramento.net/ and http://www.mylenefarmer.nl/.
In 1999 she did the Mylenium tour and I thought it was time to see Mylene live. I gave myself a belated birthday present and went to Bercy for a concert. It was amazing. I still remember the head on the stage that opened. Mylene flew out of it. I couldn't believe that I was at a concert, and I was flabagasted. I really enjoyed the show. Mylene doesn't have a powerful voice. I like it very much but I can't really sing along with her as I always end up with a soar throat. But her dancing was just wonderful. I also went to Brussels twice for a concert. It was something you hardly see. It was a great shows with costume changes, dancers, a great band and a wonderful light show.
In 2005 Avant Que L'ombre came out and a series of concerts in Bercy was announced. The prices were way to high for me. And the concerts were sold out faster that I could speel Mylene's name. But I went to Antwerp to buy the CD. I noticed that the FNAC still had tickets left for the series of concerts. I gave it a try and I got the cheapest ticket that still costed me 60 Euro's (The most expencive tickets were 132 Euro). In January 2006 I went to the concert and it was fabulous. I had a great seat, front row on the right of the stage. I could see everything prefect. The only bad thing for me was the film that was shown before the concert. It was a sort of Chinese film or Japanese and I didn't understand it. It was also way to long for me. I was more than happy to see it end. I called my mother to tell her that I had a good seat, and one of the people that were below me, in the backstage area, looked up. When I ended my phonecall he asked me what someone from Holland was doing here. I told him that I loved Mylene's music and asked him what he was doing there. Mylene had 2 stages with moving things on it and these moving things didn't work properly. She hired a company from Holland to put these things on stage and this man was trying to fix the error. He never heard of Mylene and I told him that she is an artist you love or hate. There is no way in between. The show was wonderful and Mylene looke stunning. Time really flew and it was great to see her life.
In 2008 she brought out a new CD called Point De Suture and when I heard the first single, Degeneration, I was very disappointed to hear it. The melody was catchy and that was it. I bought the CD anyway and was pleasantly surprised. It was a good CD except for the first and the last song of the CD. Mylene also announced some new concerts, but this time in stadiums. the prices this time are really to high for me and I don't like stadium concerts. For me they are to big, I want to see the singer or band on stage and in a stadium you hardly see anything, is my experience. So I miss the concerts this year. I am sure Mylene will make a DVD of it so I can see it anyway. I really think it is too bad that the prices has to be so high. Mylene is one of the best sold artists in France and she is well known in France, Canada and even in Russia and other countries around the world.
Mylene hardly gives interviews or does TV shows. Her video clips are minifilms and can be seen on You Tube and various other sites. Mylene is my favorite French singer. I like others like Marc Lavoine, Alain Souchon, Julien Clerc and Zazie, but I prefer to listen to Mylene.
More on Mylene can be found here: http://www.mylene.net/, http://www.innamoramento.net/ and http://www.mylenefarmer.nl/.
maandag 5 januari 2009
Discovering Nathaniel Parker
5 years ago, my hometown had a cinema. Not anymore as it didn't drew that many people to it. I was a regulair there and I saw lots of films. One of the was the Haunted Mansion. I love the ride in the Disneyland Paris parc and I wanted to see the film. I took Eddie Murphy for granted. I am not really a fan of him, although he made some funny films. I sat back and relax to almost fly out of my chair when the master of the house came insight. I wondered if I saw it right, and then I heard him say "haven't you", to the Evers family, who were talking about the fireplace. My mouth fell open. Who was this handsome man, who looked adorable in this suit. I found that I liked him more than the other actors. Not only for the looks but also the way of acting struck me. I really felt sorry that Master Gracey didn't get Elizabeth at first and I felt very happy that they were together at the end of the film. I walked home totally in thought about the film I just saw and this actor. I was so in thoughts that I even passed my own house without noticing it. Once inside I switched on the computer and started a search for the mysterious Master Gracey. It turned out that the actors name was Nathaniel Parker and that he had made a lot of films and TV series. A few weeks later I saw that the BBC was showing an old episode of the Inspector Lynley Mysteries. I watched it and now I was really able to see Nathaniel's acting skill. In the Haunted Mansion he had a (to) small part and here he was playing the hero.
Now 5 years later I saw a lot of Nathaniels films and TV series. I also have some audiobooks he read and I can recommand the WaterHorse for sure. It is fun to listen to and not to long. It is a great book and it shows that Nathaniel is also very talented with his voice. 2 years ago I went to London with some friends. We wanted to see Rivers Rutherford, a friend of one of my friends and a great singer-songwriter. While we were waiting and listening to other singer-songwriters I couldn't believe my eyes as I saw Nathaniel and his wife Anna walking into the room. If my mouth fell open during the Haunted Mansion, it dropped to the floor now. I couldn't believe that I was in the same room as my favorite actor. Rivers performed for an hour and he was great. After the show my friends and I went over to Nathaniel and Anna. We had a brief chat with Anna, who is a lovely lady and a talented actress and interior designer. After she left we had a nice long chat with Nathaniel. I can't imagine a nicer man than he is. He was so nice and friendly that I still can not believe that I was talking to my favorite actor. But it was great to meet him.
Last year Nathaniel did a play called Quartermaine's Terms. Ofcourse I wanted to see it and with help from a dear friend in England I was able to get tickets for 2 shows in Windsor. After a bad start of the trip me and some friends saw the play twice and met Nathaniel twice. He was so nice and recognized me from our last meeting. He was very happy with the present I gave him for his birthday and I was very happy when he told me that my birthday card was on his dressing room table, among others he received. The next day I had the honour to meet Jill Parker, his mother. He even introduced me to her, as a friend later told me. We talked a little bit about her garden book, which is out of print, but a lovely book to have and about our passion for gardens. She is such a lovely lady. It was really great to meet Nathaniel again.
Thanks to Nathaniel I met a lot of nice people. Some became really dear friends to me and I met some of them. It is great to switch on the computer and find all these emails from friends or messages from them on the forum. I also started a site for the Inspector Lynley Mysteries, as I think that this series always had no good promotion. And with a dear friend I am about to launch a fanfriendly site for Nathaniel. I think Nathaniel is the best actor (together with Ben Barnes) there is. We all have our own taste ofcourse, but for me Nathaniel is the most talented actor there is. And also very friendly.
If you are curious about the Lynley site you can visit it. http://www.theinspectorlynleymysteries.net/
If you want to visit the site that I am about to launch with a dear friend you can click here to see a little example.
http://nathanielparker24-7.net/index.html
There is also a forum where fans from all over the world meet. It is a fanfriendly place where everybody feels at home. http://natparker.proboards98.com/index.cgi
If you are curious about Anna's work as interior designer you go to this site. http://www.livingetc.com/housesGallery/article.php?id=224750&num=0
Now 5 years later I saw a lot of Nathaniels films and TV series. I also have some audiobooks he read and I can recommand the WaterHorse for sure. It is fun to listen to and not to long. It is a great book and it shows that Nathaniel is also very talented with his voice. 2 years ago I went to London with some friends. We wanted to see Rivers Rutherford, a friend of one of my friends and a great singer-songwriter. While we were waiting and listening to other singer-songwriters I couldn't believe my eyes as I saw Nathaniel and his wife Anna walking into the room. If my mouth fell open during the Haunted Mansion, it dropped to the floor now. I couldn't believe that I was in the same room as my favorite actor. Rivers performed for an hour and he was great. After the show my friends and I went over to Nathaniel and Anna. We had a brief chat with Anna, who is a lovely lady and a talented actress and interior designer. After she left we had a nice long chat with Nathaniel. I can't imagine a nicer man than he is. He was so nice and friendly that I still can not believe that I was talking to my favorite actor. But it was great to meet him.
Last year Nathaniel did a play called Quartermaine's Terms. Ofcourse I wanted to see it and with help from a dear friend in England I was able to get tickets for 2 shows in Windsor. After a bad start of the trip me and some friends saw the play twice and met Nathaniel twice. He was so nice and recognized me from our last meeting. He was very happy with the present I gave him for his birthday and I was very happy when he told me that my birthday card was on his dressing room table, among others he received. The next day I had the honour to meet Jill Parker, his mother. He even introduced me to her, as a friend later told me. We talked a little bit about her garden book, which is out of print, but a lovely book to have and about our passion for gardens. She is such a lovely lady. It was really great to meet Nathaniel again.
Thanks to Nathaniel I met a lot of nice people. Some became really dear friends to me and I met some of them. It is great to switch on the computer and find all these emails from friends or messages from them on the forum. I also started a site for the Inspector Lynley Mysteries, as I think that this series always had no good promotion. And with a dear friend I am about to launch a fanfriendly site for Nathaniel. I think Nathaniel is the best actor (together with Ben Barnes) there is. We all have our own taste ofcourse, but for me Nathaniel is the most talented actor there is. And also very friendly.
If you are curious about the Lynley site you can visit it. http://www.theinspectorlynleymysteries.net/
If you want to visit the site that I am about to launch with a dear friend you can click here to see a little example.
http://nathanielparker24-7.net/index.html
There is also a forum where fans from all over the world meet. It is a fanfriendly place where everybody feels at home. http://natparker.proboards98.com/index.cgi
If you are curious about Anna's work as interior designer you go to this site. http://www.livingetc.com/housesGallery/article.php?id=224750&num=0
Dorian Gray
For some reason the story of Dorian Gray intrigues me. I had the book in my hands on several visits to London, but I always left the store without it. Now there will be a film from the book. My favorite director Oliver Parker is working on it. They wrapped up the filming and the film comes out in September. I am really looking forward to it as I am a fan of Oliver and I love the films he made so far. St Trinian's was the best for me. It had my all time favorite actor Nathaniel Parker in it. It was a very small part, but he was in it. And also Colin Firth, another actor I like very much was in it. And Colin is also in Dorian Gray. But he is not the main reason I want to see it. First of all I am very intrigued by the story, second of all, it is directed by Oliver Parker and thrid of all, Ben Barnes is in it. I discovered Ben when I saw Stardust (another great film) and I thought he was really talented. Two weeks ago I saw Easy Virtue when I was in London and Ben was even better in this film. I also found out that he will be the leading character of Dorian Gray. I saw some pictures of it already and it looks very promising to me. If you want to know more about the film you can watch this part of the Ealing Studio site. I really have no idea why the story is so intriging to me. I am waiting for the book to arrive and to see the film. Maybe then I find out why I want to know more about this.
http://www.ealingstudios.com/news/Film/DorianGray.html
http://www.ealingstudios.com/news/Film/DorianGray.html
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