NEWS and UPDATES

You can find this and lots of other complimentary cartoons here 

[08.03.2010: Link updated, as I have just discovered that cartoonist Nick D. Kim now has a new site.]

... as the photograph confirms, I:

(1) smiled,

(2) threw my arms in the air, and

(3) laughed out loud!

 

The rest of Belly Laugh Day 2007 was great fun, too!

Thanks to Belle-Maman (a.k.a. Mamy since the day before - but that's another story...) for the photo.

My surname means "BELLY" in Dutch. The title of my university research project was (the German word for) "LAUGHTER". So you will understand what I mean when I say that the following announcement is right up my street: in case you hadn't already heard, next Wednesday, January 24, is BELLY LAUGH DAY!

Like most brilliant ideas, the concept is quite simple. The official press release invites you to "...celebrate the great gift of laughter. On Belly Laugh Day, January 24, at 1:24 p.m. (local time), smile, throw your arms in the air and laugh out loud. Join the Belly Laugh Bounce 'Round the World."

And remember, as the talking e-card invitation says: "Your laughter is contagious"...

You can read and download the entire press release here.

For full details, downloadable posters and articles about the benefits of laughter, see www.bellylaughday.com

The fifth annual edition of this report makes fascinating reading, with 110 "real-life" stories and lessons learned sumbitted by MarketingSherpa readers. Download a free PDF copy of the 60-page report here.

It's rare that something inspires me to put pen to paper these days, but the November issue of Fast Company magazine has an article that I believe every thinking person should read. It dares to pose the question: "...what will life be like when nothing is forgotten?"

Here's what I wrote to the author:

Congratulations! This is one of the most fascinating and important articles I can “recall” ever having read! Where/what/who would we be without our memories? Your closing paragraph triggered an association with a piece of centuries-old Chinese wisdom that I transcribed in calligraphy into a hand-bound paper notebook years ago after chancing upon it in a book retrieved from a library shelf via a fuzzy searching methodology that defies formal description: “The palest ink is better than the most retentive memory”. I’ve already made a PDF copy of your article and stored it safely on my hard drive, together with a back-up copy on an external hard disk, a copy on my virtual hard drive in WEB.DE cyberspace, and a spare copy on my LAKS.COM USB watch. (I found your article on my own weblog this evening thanks to the Fast Company RSS feed, but that's another story...) Nevertheless, I’m going to go out and buy the print edition of this issue of Fast Company magazine first thing tomorrow morning, because I want to get it in writing!

If you want to know what all the fuss is about, you can read the original article here.

According to a very interesting item on BBC NEWS, "Sitting up straight is not the best position for office workers..."!

Read the article here

Could this be a "WEEE" step in the right direction?

See full story here 

I recently bought a "desk set" ("set à bureau"/"bureauset") for my office and, as an acute sufferer from déformation professionnelle, I automatically started reading the multilingual text on the packaging before discarding (er, make that "recycling") it.

Imagine my surprise when I saw the English "equivalent" used to translate "range-documents"/"papierbakje" – the term used was: "WASTEPAPER BIN"!

Kind of gives a whole new meaning to the concept of classement vertical, doesn't it? 

This is the title of an exhibition of works by quintessentially Belgian artist Patryck de Froidmont currently showing in Brussels. The vernissage last Thursday evening was well-attended, and the ambiance was especially animated as guests savoured the word-plays and humour evident in the titles and the striking originality – and remarkable variety – of the exhibits themselves. Rarely have so many works by a single artist resonated with me so much. Well worth a visit!

 

Patryck de Froidmont on the opening night of his exhibition. On the wall behind him is one of my personal favourites among the works on show, a picture entitled "Surroyalisme". In the background is a provocative sculptural work incorporating model soldiers in combat, entitled "Il leur manque une case".