Humans of Belgium: some constructive notes

I'm guessing most of you know "Humans of New York" aka HONY. If you don't: look it up on Facebook or google. I follow HONY on Facebook, and I love it. Basically it's some guy taking pictures of random people he sees in New York, and posting those online along with a quote from the photo's subject which he found interesting.

Well, since HONY is immensely popular, it didn't take long for a belgian version to pop up. Except this one is flawed. I love the effort and idea, but there are some points they really need to work on.

1. Leave out that huge white border on your photo's. It has no additional value and doesn't make the photograph better. If anything, it reduces the quality really.

2. If you can't translate dutch to english properly: don't. Who is in charge of your translations? Fire that person! I've noticed that it's almost never correct. Besides, even if your quote is translated perfectly, you'll always lose some part of the meaning. No matter how correct: a translation is still an adapted quote and it will always have a slightly different meaning or possible interpretation than the original one.

3. Sometimes it's not important to also show your question. The answer alone can be enough. Also: leave people guessing who said what. It makes everything a hell of a lot more interesting.

4. Mix your subjects up. Don't always go for the average person. Pick someone 'different' every once and a while. Step away from our coast line and visit other places. You won't meet a great variety of people if you constantly use the same location. This isn't New York, everything is spread around here.

Humans of New York: https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork

Humans of Belgium: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Humans-of-Belgium/570450909742413

Fashion faux pas that make my toes curl

1) Wearings leggings as trousers. LEGGINGS AREN'T PANTS. Don't do it. Just don't. Even if you have a perfectly formed ass (which isn't the case with most people who do this, and you can see every bit of cellulite, even if you don't have any), you still have a huge camel toe risk, and I automatically label you as "cheap" or someone who likes and probably needs the attention.

2) Crocs. I'm sorry, do I even have to explain this one? Crocs were never pretty and they never will be. I don't care how comfortable they are: it's the ugliest shoe (can I even call it a shoe?) I've ever seen. If you have a pair: burn them. Then bury the remains. Never speak of it again. Just pretend like it never happened.

3) White trousers: This is a personal one. I rarely like white pants. White jeans: no problem. White pants: problem. I almost never find it flattering. You can either see every detail of your not so perfectly formed body (by which I don't mean "ugly", just normal) or your underwear is showing through the fabric, and not in a good way. Though there's never a good way really.

4) Heels lower than 5 cm. You either choose flats or heels, but shoes with an eeniemeenie heel don't count as heels. There are exceptions, but why bother buying heels if you're opting for the lowest one?  To me, it looks stupid. Go hard or go home. Again: I'm not saying it's impossible. There are small heeled shoes that are gorgeous, but in a cute sandal kind of way. If it looks like a pump without height, you're doing it wrong. 

5) Michelin/puffer jackets. Now, I know a lot of people like these jackets. I'm sure they're very warm and comfortable, and I'm pretty sure they can keep you from drowning if you ever fall off a boat, but seriously people: There are millions of other options out there that actually look good. Why would you wanna walk around looking like the Michelin Man? I've only met one person that looked good in one, and it's only because he was a really cute guy, so deep down I know that factor completely clouded my judgement about the jacket, because michelin jackets are néver attractive.

A tribute to Sienna Miller as Nikki

When I first saw Alfie (you know, the movie with Jude Law when he was still hot) all those years ago, the one thing I never forgot was how gorgeous and perfect Sienna Miller was. She's a perfect Nikki. I love the way she looks in this particular movie. I swear, if someone granted me a wish that would allow me to take someone else's appearance, it would be hers. I don't mean to drool or anything, but come on guys, how is it even possible to look thàt good? If you're a girl and you refuse to admit that: honey, please get out of your hate corner and get over yourself, we all know you're lying if you deny it.

Sigh.

I should get bangs. Note to self: don't get bangs, it looks like shit. Don't do it. Just don't.

McLohan

There are two actresses that constantly remind me of each other: Rose McGowan and Lindsay Lohan. I'm not saying they're lookalikes, I'm saying they both did something horribly wrong to the lower part of their faces, which results in this odd similarity to one another. They both changed drastically over the years, have the same way of posing in front of the camera and their mouths have something odd about them these days. They often look like they're made out of plastic. It's strange.

Is it just me or does anyone else see what I see?

The similarities are more obvious when they're having a bad day (read: no make-up or photoshop), but I didn't want to be cruel. I think you all get the point.

Pharrell's shitty song

Am I the only one that keeps hearing diarrhea instead of diary when Pharrell's new song comes up? I'm so sorry, but it's impossible for me to hear the right word. And to be fair: diarrhea just works in that phrase as well. It kinda works for multiple phrases really.

For those who aren't familiar with it, these are the wonderful lyrics I'm referring to:
"Dear diary diarrhea, it's happenin' again
This energy, like I'm 'bout to win
I just close my eyes and visions appear"

Just wanted to share that with the world. You're welcome

Song: Marilyn Monroe - Pharrell Williams

Shorty problems #1

Read an article online that states all the quotes short people (Don't you dare say "little people", I'll hunt you down and punch you in the stomach) just never want to hear, but unfortunately most people say them anyway. All the time. And I must say, I've probably experienced every single quote on that horrible list. Here's my top 5.

1) "Wow, you're short!" - Thank you so much for pointing that out, never noticed!
2) "-How tall are you actually? -(insert answer here) - Really? Wow you're like a midget or something!" - First of all, I'm not a midget. Second, you're offending me. Sure I'm short, but I'm not thàt short. I'm not telling you your ass could rip your skirt if you bend over, right? Let's give it a try, just to give you an example: "How big is your butt? Really? Wow it's amazing your clothes haven't ripped yet!". See what I just did there? Yeah. Shut up.
3) "You're really gorgeous! Too bad you can never be a model.. you know, because you're tiny." - That's like giving a compliment, and crushing a potential dream right afterwards. Just to make sure nobody gets their hopes up. It's a compliment and a diss in one sentence. I'm sorry I guess?
4) "Can I see your ID miss?" - Really? REALLY? I'm 23! TWENTY-THREE! How can you possibly mistake me for someone at least five years younger than that? Ugh. (Although I'm gonna like this one when I'm 30. Or 40. I'll probably hug you if you think I'm younger then.)
5) "You're so easy to lean on." Literally. Yeah sure, use my head/shoulders as an armrest, it's fine, totally not annoying. Oh, leaning on me ànd talking to the person standing behind me? Sure go ahead, I'll just pretend I'm invisible and stand here awkwardly.

Hey guys, it's Kendall Jenner for Interview Magazine

So here are the shots of Kendall Jenner posing for Interview Magazine. She's flawless. Say whatever you want about the Kardashians, but Kendall's definitely model material and I absolutely envy her beauty. Seriously, how can you look that good all the time? Are you even human? Stupid perfect genes. It's ridiculous. (Oh, the photographer is Mikael Jansson by the way)

I mean.. LOOK AT HER. This is just depressing. It even made me consider going back to being a brunette for a while (but then I realized it wouldn't really make a difference and I'd probably regret it instantly causing me to hide in a cave until I'm decent again. Then again: I'm alréady kinda a cavewoman, so why not. It's 5 o'clock and I'm still sitting in my pyjama looking like a hobo. Point made). Anyway, this isn't about me, it's about Kendall. Let's take a look at some more photo's of this perfect creation. Try not to cry. Maybe get a hold of some ice-cream.

Hahaha

I'm never going outside again.

Why I don't like Madonna

I've never liked and I will never like Madonna. Let me give you my little list of reasons:

1) She has no musical talent. Sure, she made it as a singer, but only because of her repulsive and purposely shocking behavior on and off stage. It's one thing to rebel, but acting like her is just ridiculous. The sad part is that it actually worked. And it still does: just look at Miley copying the exact same routine to fame.

2) She's what I like to call a "porno-momsy": a mother that can't do things without making it look pornographic. Usually accompanied by big boobs that pop out on every photograph. (Very traumatizing for the children involved)

3) She has no musical style or genre. Her main reason to try something nowadays is to stay relevant and more importantly: young. What's up with her albums since 2005? For example the music video of her "hung up"-song. Why is it necessary to wear an outfit that almost shows her vajayjay while she keeps on flashing it in your face with those weird dance moves? Why the hell would she even go to some club with all those 20-somethings, she was 46 at the time. She could have been way more successful if she presented herself age appropriate.

4) She keeps on posting these semi-nude pictures of herself. I have no problem with nudity, as long as it's presented in a classy and elegant way. But Madonna clearly doesn't share the same opinion. Seriously grandma, stop flashing your stuff, I'm réally not interested. It's just disgusting.

5) She wanted to be (and dressed up as) Daenerys Targaryen. No. No. No. YOU CAN'T BE MY KHALEESI. NO! NO! You're ruining it! NO!

There. I said it. If you're a fan: don't take it personal. Everyone's allowed to have their opinion and well, this is mine.

WARNING: below you find photographs of Madonna that support my reasons as to why I don't like her. I'm sorry.

The blowout games: Catching Fire

An hour ago I was happily blow drying my hair. Nothing unusual, everything was a-o-kay. Until my hair caught fire. Yeah, you read that right, it caught fire. Like, legit fire. How the hell is that even possible? Was able to put it out immediately, but it kinda smelled burnt for a while though. Luckily for me: there's no damage to be seen.

But back to the important part here: my hair caught fire. Fire. (I can't stress this enough). Let's investigate how that shit could happen. Was it the blowdryer? No, I was looking in the mirror at the time and saw the whole thing happen: it was my hair. The blowdryer's fine. Of course it's fine. It's a murderous device, I'll never look at it the same way. Maybe it was my conditioner, could it have been flammable? I'm being paranoid, it wasn't. Was the heat simply too hot to handle? That along with some friction and direct contact with my hair? Who knows. I'll take comfort in the fact that this has happened before to other people (according to Google anyways). But take note my fellow readers: be careful with your hair devices, because you never know when it's gonna turn on you.

CHUBBY STICK LOVE

Thanks to my sister, I am now aware of the fact that there is such thing as a chubby stick. What's that you say? Oh, it's only the best invention ever. A chubby stick is a moisturizing lip color balm created by Clinique. So it's a lipstick and lip balm combined. Which is great news, because I'm one of those unlucky people with dry lips and an addiction to lip balm. So whenever I put on lipstick, it just looks dry and crumbled after a mere hour. But no more, I can finally put on a color without looking dehydrated! Yes! YES!

There are two different versions of the Chubby Stick: the 'normal' one ("Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm", see image below) and the more intense one that brings out a stronger color ("Chubby Stick Intense Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm", see image above). I purchased "Curviest Caramel" from the intense line and it's amazing. (I sound a bit crazy, I know, but I really love it. Obviously.)

Squat 'till you drop

My friends recently dragged me along to an afrogym session, and I must admit: I'm hooked. I've never done sports, and I never felt the need to go to the gym. I'm probably one of the laziest persons out there. But no more! Afrogym made me realize how good it feels to exercise. (Safe to say I'm getting a subscription next week).

I'm almost 23 and I realized I'll never be as fit as I am now. If I want to get in shape and remain that way, now's the time to do it. So I'll continue to attend afrogym, but I'm also doing a 30 day squat challenge. Squats are perfect for getting toned legs and an ass to die for, which is exactly what I want. I found a schedule online and I'm determined to stick to it. Killer body, here I come!

Check out this link to learn the proper way to do squats:  The perfect squat

Uhm, what's afrogym?

It's an innovative and easy-to-learn dance style with numerous variations that combines physical exercises, dance and African rhythms. It helps you lose weight and strengthen your body. During the classes they focus on a warming-up & one choreography where they work the buttocks, thighs, hips, calves, hamstrings and many other muscles.

Rule #3: happiness should never be based on having a relationship

Being alone isn't always fun. Of course there are some great advantages to it, and the flirting sure as hell is nice, but sometimes we all wish we had someone to share something more with. There's nothing wrong with that. But it ìs wrong when your happiness depends on whether or not you're seeing someone. 

I may sound a bit cheesy, but you simply have to be able to be happy on your own. In any case your happily single attitude will surely attract potential dating material. You need to have something besides your significant other that can make you smile. Especially after a break-up it ain't always easy not to jump onto the next train with someone else to replace that numb, lonely feeling, but that's not ideal. Learn to be on your own. Discover what you like, do all the things you want to do, try new things, challenge yourself. You'll never feel more free and alive than when you realize you're perfectly fine being single and notice that you haven't even missed being with someone.  It will also help you discover what you're really looking for in someone. If you're not happy on your own and everything depends on whether or not you have a relationship, you're more likely to lower your standards and say yes to more people you should've said no to.

Although I must admit: I personally never truly get over someone until the day I fall for someone else. (But I'm talking about the great loves here, not your random flirt). That being said, getting over someone is not something you can force or control, but being happy on your own is.

No Terry Richardson for me

I assume everyone knows Terry Richardson: a famous photographer who has photographed pretty much everyone that mattered at the time. Personally, I don't get it. I really don't get the hype. Sure, he takes a good photo, but to me most of it is boring and amateuristic. (Yeah I know: maybe that's the point. But to be honest, I'm too lazy to check. And why would that be a succes? It's surreal to me. And yes: I admit he has done some good -perhaps even amazing- editorial shoots. I'm not saying it's all bad.) The only thing that matters is his name I guess. It's like preferring a brand champagne above a less known one, even though the latter might be ten times better than the famous brand. Feel free to disagree with me, but I'm definitely not a fan.

Top to bottom: Lindsay Lohan - Cole Mohr - Miley Cyrus - Jared Leto

Sure, there's a theme: he loves to play with sexuallity and tries to give it a casual look, but I rarely see a picture appear where I think "damn, Terry, I might be a fan after all". Besides, there are far more interesting (and perhaps classier) ways of playing with nudity in pictures.

Oh, and if I see one more white trash picture of Miley I'm gonna have to stop surfing the web. They're everywhere. Besides cats. And Jennifer Lawrence. Gotta love the internet.

W Magazine: the movie issue

So here are the different covers of the February issue of W Magazine and I must say I love them. There's something simple and effortless about them.. yet elegant. They just work. But apparently there are a lot of people who don't agree with me and think they're disappointing and boring. Take a look and decide for yourself :)

Amy Adams

 Jennifer Lawrence

Lupita Nyong'o

Oprah

 Matthew McConaughey

 Cate Blanchett

Must admit I'm not a big fan of Matthews cover to be honest, but maybe that's simply because there's just something about him that I don't like, can't put my finger on it though..