Celluloid Diaries: May 2013

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Book town - Redu

Redu book town
In the heart of Wallonia lies a small town where every commerce is a book store, safe a few restaurants and cafés. Its name is Redu and its nickname village des livres or book village.

Though the town traces its origins back some 1,100 years, it officially became a book town on Easter weekend 1984 when hundreds of book stalls lined up the streets for Redu's first book fair. The success was such that most of the booksellers ended up staying for good.

Here are some photos of my day trip to Redu....

Redu book town
Redu book town
Redu book town
Redu book town
Redu book town
Redu book town

Have you ever been to a book town?

Friday, May 24, 2013

Start each day like it's your birthday



It's my birthday today and it started just right with my boyfriend bringing me breakfast in bed.

But imagine for a second it's your birthday too... What are the things you would want to accomplish and do before your birthday next year? I'm talking about these things that will make you frustrated or sad if you haven't done them. Go ahead. Make a list. If you need some inspiration, here's mine:


1) Finish my new novel "Frances"

2) Publish my new novel

3) Turn my new book into a bestseller. That will be a tricky one because it's difficult to control, so I will really need your help with this ;-)

4) Attend the Cannes film festival

5) Go to at least one other film festival abroad

6) Go to at least three other film festivals in Belgium

7) Make that Christmas recipe with red berries and champagne I'm planning on making since two years

8) Go to a Halloween event

9) Visit the zoo of Antwerp

10) Celebrate New Year's Eve abroad, at the seaside or in the Ardennes

11) Improve my writing a great deal

12) Make my blog as good as it can possibly get (tips anyone?)

13) Tackle some health issues

14) Visit at least three creepy places (urbex or other)

15) Write and read at a seafront café


Most of the time, I don't even accomplish half of my goals, not even the easy ones. Blame it on bad planning, unexpected events and being unrealistic. A year seems long at the start, but then we're suddenly halfway and there's not enough time left. Sounds familiar to you?

So let's make sure this year will be different.

Now that your list is finished too, I want you to share it here. Don't be shy. From now on, every 24th of the
month, I'd like you to come back to this page and ponder what you have accomplished and what you want to realize in the coming month. Do some of the small things first; that will keep you positive. Plan ahead and make sure you can wipe as many things off your list as possible. Same time next year, we'll talk again to check where we are. Does that sound like a deal? You'll be able to follow my evolution on this blog.

Let's make this a year without regrets :)

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Bohan & Membre-sur-Semois

Bohan Semois

My aunt and uncle had a caravan in Membre-sur-Semois when I was little and I spent quite a lot of weekends and holidays there. This small village with no more than 140 inhabitants is situated on the border of the river Semois and is entirely surrounded by woods and hills. The last time I've been in Membre-sur-Semois was almost twenty years ago, but I was in the neighborhood earlier this month and so we took a little detour to visit the village I was once so familiar with.

Membre-sur-Semois
Membre-sur-Semois
Membre-sur-Semois

We also made a stop in the nearby village of Bohan where we used to do our shopping and outings. Cute fact: my boyfriend spent several holidays here as well. We didn't know each other back then, but there have been several occasions where we've been at the same place at the same time.

Bohan Semois
Bohan
Bohan
Camping Bohan
Bohan
Bohan

What are you nostalgic for? Have you ever returned (or wanted to) to places you have known as a child?

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Currently reading / watching / listening to...

Chi's Sweet Home

Reading

* Chi's Sweet Home volume 8 by Konami Kanata. Even cuter and more heartwarming than the previous installments. I defy you to read this and not get ridiculously happy.

* One Year Lived by Adam Shepard. I love true stories about travels and inspiring people and One Year Lived was a delightful combination of both. For an entire year, Adam Shepard traveled the world, living and volunteering in countries such as Honduras, New Zealand, Australia, Philippines, Nicaragua and Spain. Shepard gives a good idea of the countries he visited, but where he really succeeds is in describing life as a volunteer in an exotic country and in inspiring people to do something extraordinary with their lives, even if it's just for one month. One Year Lived is free for readers of this blog. Look below for more information.


Watching

* Orphan Black. Sarah witnesses the suicide of a stranger who looks just like her. Sarah assumes her identity in the hopes of cleaning out the dead woman's bank account. Instead, she finds herself caught in the middle of a deadly conspiracy involving clones. I'm currently at episode seven of this TV series. There's never a dull moment with Orphan Black, but the first two episodes were definitely the most racy and surprising ones.

* Hemlock Grove.  I didn't get beyond episode two of this TV series based on the werewolf novel by Brian McGreevy.

* Sightseers. A woman goes on a road trip with her fiancé and finds out he's a killer. And isn't true love about encouraging your man's activities and joining in the fun? Not bad at all, just not as good as most of the other movies I watched over the past few weeks. From the director of Kill List.

* Killing Them Softly. It's been a couple of weeks since I saw Killing Me Softly and I forgot almost all about it. Enough said, no?

* Survive Style 5+. I've rarely seen anything as bizarre, original and over the top as this Japanese movie. Loved it.

* My Amityville Horror. Documentary about the events and people that have inspired the 70s horror movie The Amityville Horror. It didn't really come as a surprise that the family living in the house was rather unstable and that the spooky events probably never happened.

* Mientras duermes (Sleep Tight). Spanish director Jaume Balagueró has been my artistic crush since The Nameless and Darkness. With Mienatras duermes he proves once more that he has visual flair and a gift for intelligent storytelling. Also, here's one of the best endings you will see in a long time.

* To The Wonder. Terrence Malick tells us about our incapacity to make decisions by showing us an unhappy couple that doesn't know if they want to stay together or not. It's beautifully rendered and the lack of dialogue (we only hear actors talking from afar) gives the movie an estranged atmosphere.

* The Lords Of Salem. The vintage feel, reminiscent of the 70s witch movies, makes The Lords Of Salem worth watching. The lack of story and character development and the overdose of ridiculous scenes on the other hand...

* The Road To Salina. A man is mistaken for someone's missing son and decides to play the game... until he notices he doesn't resemble the boy at all. I loved the brooding atmosphere, the locations (France and Spain), the actors and the bizarre story.

* The Chumscrubber. Relatively unknown film despite the funny story and the famous cast (Ralph Fiennes, Glenn Close, Jamie Bell, Justin Chatwin). The Chumscrubber is easily as good as Juno and the likes.

* Movie 43. All the sketches in this film have one thing in common: they are as gross as possible. There are some clever ideas in this otherwise unstable collection, but two sketches really stand out. In the first one, Kate Winslet has a blind date with Hugh Jackman who happens to have a pair of testicles in his neck that only she seems to notice. The scene where Winslet almost throws up in her plate is legendary. Another favorite was the one from James Gunn about the obsessive relationship between an man and his cat. Hilarious. Everyone who still believes that I have an unhealthy relationship with my cat, please watch this first and we'll talk later.

* Perfect Mothers. Naomi Watts and Robin Wright play two mothers who sleep with each other's sons. Too much giggling, self-absorbed babble and soap-like twists make Perfect Mothers hard to fully enjoy despite the breathtaking scenery and holiday feel. Still, there's something that lingers on with this film. Based on Doris Lessing's novel The Grandmothers.

* Side Effects. Steven Soderbergh's latest is an assured thriller that captivates from beginning to end. Only downside: Side Effects was VERY similary to the 80s movie Final Analysis.

* Aftershock. Holidays, earthquakes, natural disasters, criminals on the loose... Aftershock could have been a lot of fun, even despite the silly characters. But then a tsunami is announced, people start running... and suddenly get more interested in stealing televisions and raping people. Definitely the thing to do with a tsunami on your heals.


Listening to

* The soundtrack of Maniac. I'm obsessed with this ever since I saw the movie at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.

* The soundtrack of Side Effects. The perfect companion for when I'm writing.

* Also been to concerts of Max Richter (assured, precise, classy) and Christina Vantzou (promising but inexperienced).

What have you been reading, watching and listening to lately?


Giveaway

Adam Shepard, the author of One Year Lived, will send a PDF copy of his book to everyone who shares this blog post on either Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, StumbleUpon or Google+. Giveaway is open worldwide and ends May 22nd.

One Year Lived Adam Shepard

For a complete list of giveaways of the Love In Bloom Giveaway Hop, go to: http://www.iamareader.com/2013/04/love-in-bloom-giveaway-hop-sign-ups-may-16th-to-22nd.html

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Parc Animalier de Bouillon

zebra

Below are photos of some of the animals at the Parc Animalier de Bouillon, the zoo I visited during my romantic weekend in Chassepierre. The zoo was rather small, but cosy and some animals really remarkable - such as the maned wolf (whose urine smells like cannabis, so much that the police searched the Rotterdam Zoo for cannabis smokers), the white lions (that exist only in Bouillon) or the snow monkey (who managed to communicate his wish to get him some grass to eat because it was out of his reach).

Top to bottom: (1) zebra, (2) maned wolf, (3) white lion, (4) snow monkey, (5) rhesus monkey, (6) night monkey, (7) snowy owl, (8) Siberian tiger, (9) highland cattle, (10) Patagonian mara, (11) Patagonian mara babies, (12) wild boar, (13) Canadian lynx, (14) emu.

maned wolf
white lion
snow monkey
rhesus monkey
night monkey
snowy owl
siberian tigers
highland cattle
patagonian mara
patagonian mara babies
wild boar
canadian lynx
emu

What's the last zoo you've been too? Do you have a favorite animal?

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Chassepierre

Chassepierre

My parents-in-law treated us to a weekend trip to Chassepierre last week. Situated in the Belgian Ardennes, Chassepierre is bordered in the East by the river Semois and in the south by France. The name originates from the Latin casa petrea meaning 'stone house'.

Chassepierre
Chassepierre

We stayed in the B&B Les Jeannes -- super romantic! We heard nothing but rave reviews about Les Jeannes and we were excited to stay in the colorful little B&B. Les Jeannes is almost like a destination in itself. All the rooms are decorated with paintings and vintage pieces (one room even had a confession booth in it). It's all a bit over the top, but in a good way.

B&B Les Jeannes in Chassepierre
B&B Les Jeannes in Chassepierre
B&B Les Jeannes in Chasspierre

The many paintings in Les Jeannes also inspired a few scenes for my new novel "Frances" and after a late-night brainstorming session with my boyfriend we came up with several other ideas for the book.

Les Jeannes

Also worth mentioning: the delicious homemade breakfast and dinner made from local produce, the kind owners, and the many cats from Chassepierre (the village has less than 200 inhabitants and I believe I saw more cats than people there).

fromage Ardennes


What's the best (or most original) B&B/hotel you've ever been to? Why was it so special?

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Side Effects



I went to a matinee screening of "Side Effects" last Tuesday and instantly thought that Thomas Newman's musical score would make a perfect soundtrack for my new novel "Frances" (yes, I have soundtracks for my novels; blame it on my obsessive love of film). Since then it's playing on repeat when I'm writing. It's amazing how fitting music can boost creativity and conjure up the right atmosphere. "Frances" will be a story combining demonic possession, evil kids and cats.

What kind of music do you listen to when writing/working? How does it help your creativity?