Martine's crappy comments

The Dubliners: "A Time to Remember"

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:36:59 GMT

Yesterday I was lucky enough to see this great band perform live here in Antwerp again. I really feel so lucky they performed in my hometown.
Don't know why, but once Celtic music gets into your heart, it never seems to leave it. I really admire those men, old enough to be my father, or even my grandfather, if generations passed quickly, for their energy and the way they bring old music alive.
This performance was unlike any other. With some video and photos they brought back their band members who crossed to the other side. It was a great experience for me to see the image of the great Luke Kelly brought back alive. I always admired his voice and I regretted the fact I would never have the chance to ever see him perform live. Also the same for Ciaran Burke and Ronnie Drew. I can still hear their voices and the way they played their instruments on recordings, but still ...
This brought me to a quote of my favorite television series ever: "Robin of Sherwood". The haunting melodies of Clannad, a band I also had to fortune to see live in the same hall here in Antwerp, just carried this metal head away to a strange experince.
So thinking of this quote: "Nothing is forgotten, nothing is ever forgotten", I started to get the feeling this concert was unique in a certain way. The three Dubliners that died will never be forgotten and for a moment I had a feeling their spirits still live on and that they were there.
Since I did forget something last time, I was clever enough to take my camera with me this time, but yeps ... the battery wasn't charged, so I was unable to take great pictures.
Was it a curse? I don't know. I did take some, but maybe because I wasnt focussed on my camera or cell phone, I might have enjoyed the show even more. It actually crossed my mind that last time I charged that camera battery, I was in Ireland, using a plug from a travel compagnon, since my continental plug didn't much the sockets they use on the emerald iseland.
Now what brought me there in the first place? My love for music and my quest to find more than what I already knew.
As I said: I do love The Dubliners, Clannad and Breton musician Alan Stivell. Their work is a part of my memories and a part of my being and I know it will always be, since they have CDs to listen too, even when they might be gone and I am still here. Except for Eurosong winner Eimear Quinn, I was unaware of what was there as well.
But I always had a feeling the journey shouldn't stop there. I always wondered if there weren't any more people of my age group and even younger trying to keep that music alive in their own way and that was what brought me to Ireland and to my empty camera battery.
Surfing online I did found out that there are younger artists playing this music and I found out I love it still. I went to the iseland this great band I saw performing yesterday because I found another great artist, not known to a great audience, not playing the big halls, but his music did impress me and not only that ... I also found a great friend that helped me trough desperate hours in a way not only music could.
So I do share great memories of my Dubliners concerts, all three I've seen and my Clannad concert, but I might cherrish most the time I also spent with my friends in Ireland. Seems like The Dubliners gave me a great time, same as my friend musician in Ireland, but still ... I wonder if their pasta is as great of that of my friend Marc (marcgunn ), because I do think his music is just as great as well. Since I will never see Luke Kelly perform live, I do feel gratefull I could sit next to my friend with his autoharp.
I can still listen to his CDs and his podcasts, but I do hope I can meet him again, since I can enjoy his music as much as I like, but I might never enjoy his company again. Same as I am glad I forgot to recharge my camera, because The Dubliners might be back next year and I might see them again, but each show is so unique, I might have missed out a lot, if I was just watching it in a way to take great pictures of it.
So I just surrender: there are things that might just get into your heart and won't leave, no matter how hard you may try to forget them.

CD deviniation

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:24:40 GMT

Ok, time to talk about something else than myself.

For the moment I'm feeling fine, trying to think of the positive things in my life instead of the negative elements. My feeling is that it is already sad enough that some people really make it their life's mission to ruin the life of others.

But back to the positive side. A friend of mine, who I also admire as a great musician came up with another mind cracker for me. I really love Marc Gunn's latest CD "Happy Songs of Death".

Well, I think it is the subject that hit me first. People who just love to believe in science and consider after life as impossible ... well, I let them be. Just as long as I don't loose my feelings by turning them into chemical reactions of my brain, or for my better belief: just downgrading them to that, I'm fine with everything.
So making a CD with songs about death. Seems gory? Not exactly to me. The album is a bit bluesy, I agree, but still it gives a positive feeling about it. It is indeed what you may call: a happy album which makes you feel good.

Well, the spiritist in me can start to awake again. First of all: I do like the quote in the back saying "for those who passed on to greater things". With my weird life's experiences, I do believe we pass on. For most of us to rest and greater things, indeed. Those few exceptions that like to stay earth bound, I just don't consider worth mentioning. They are not worthy of our time.
Another thing: there are 13 songs on the CD. For those of you who are superstisious: I can't help you if your narrow mind stops you from even giving this great CD a chance to listen to.
For others: I like that number according to the subject. Thirteen is also quite familiar for those who have ever even held a tarot deck. It is also the number of a new beginning.

So can we be happy with death? According to my spirit guide, it is mainly the living who suffer it. I presume that says enough.

This CD was released yesterday on CDbaby. So for all of you who might want to own a copy as well, please feel free to buy it, since I know you will enjoy it.
Also there are 2 covers for it. If you can't make a pick, just realise you make more people happy by owning them both.

You can also check out the artist his website for more details: www.marcgunn.com

And he has a blog here as well ...

Stupid business

Fri, 29 May 2009 13:33:29 GMT

Ok, I'm not much of a business woman myself, but one of the things I do keep in mind is that if you want to sell things, you do want as many people as possible to buy them? Don't you?

Well, so far I guess that if you want to do (online) business, I consider it more than fair that your (potential) costumers get options to pay, so they can pay you. That is why many shops accept next to cash, electronic payment, coupons and whatever.

I presume an online business would be the same. No, seems like many, mainly American companies only accept credit card. Ok, I do believe an American without a credit card is something like a pub with no beer and I agree that if they only ship to their own country and not international, that all is fine.

But some companies do ship international and I think that if you do ship international, you should know your public. Costums can vary indeed. Europeans are not keen on spending money they don't have, so ... not credit card minded and you are not likely to get one here in my country, since banks aren't keen on them either.

So many Europeans don't have credit cards. Many smart American companies noticed and also accept alternatives like Paypal, that since recent days is also available for Europeans without credit card.

*Sigh* What a relief would you say! No, not really. Some companies, like Ficcare, Cafepress and so on still only give their international costumers only credit card option. And when you find a Belgian friend with a credit card, still it is not good, because they can't validate it in an American system.

And most recently I discovered and even more stupidity and I think I understand why the US remains in a crisis. Turns out you can only validate your Paypal account if you are costumer of an American bank.

Recently bought something on Ebay from an American seller who accepts Paypal, ships internationally and combines shipping. What do you get? He doesn't accept payment from an unvalidated account, while with unvalidated European accounts, you can be bloody shure that it is money that is tranferred from a bank account to a paypal account and not something virtual as with credit cards.

So: the sale was cancelled. No stuff for me, but also no sell for the seller, who is already paying eBay. His loss for his stupidity.

Now I do have to say: I'm not attacking Americans here, since I hold nothing against them and even consider many as friends, but I'm only questionning the stupidity of large companies that complain they make a lot of money but they want more and leave options aside, because they don't know their public.

My plans

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:46:59 GMT

1) If I can't find a suitable job, I might go back to college. Already know what I want to study and ordered the info.

2) Stay positive. I might have failed on several things in the future, but I do believe in myself more than ever today.

Back to zero

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:02:27 GMT

Well, I've been way too quiet online. I know. My life is complete hell right now, like I'm watching this movie with things that always seems to happen to others.
But I finally can admit it: for years I've been dominated by my husband. I loved him so much it didn't feel like that. He beated me, but I forgave and blamed myself, knowing I can be hard on somebody as well.
So I tried to change, but my husband didn't. Not for the good. He totally neglected me, when I tried to talk to him, he always said things to me that hurt me real bad.
At the end he became more and more violent. I didn't only took the hits and the brooses, he also tried to choke me several times. It really hurts knowing I loved somebody that tried to kill me. I don't feel safe around him anymore.
But here I am: a housewife. No income of my own. Staying with my mother. I can't even get to the papers I need for an official divorce, since he keeps them away from me in a cupboard behind 3 locks and I don't have the keys.
I always hated being a housewife, but after not getting a job and not being able to get a degree, I came to turns with it.
The only reason I endured so much pain, were my pets. I still hope to find a place where I can keep them safe. If the house has to be sold they don't have a place to stay. I love them too much to give up, but my psycopathic husband won't even clean litter boxes.
So I only survive because of my mother, hoping to get away from my worst nightmare and find a good home for my pets.

Also I just found out that my husband registred himself to a dating site. This means I'll be back to dating as well.

Back to blogging

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:21:24 GMT

I've been a bit quiet here. I know and I actually haven't been doing much, both on as offline. Time to get back in action.

WHY

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:56:31 GMT

That is what I'm asking myself as well. I've been ill for about two months. My emotions are simply killing my health. Things are changing inside me.
I don't know how to explain. Since I was a kid I always knew I had psychic abilities. Every time I try to ignore my path, things work out wrong for me.
I feel really miserable for the moment. The only thing I always wanted was to help others and now I feel like breaking apart myself. None of my wishes ever came true, or not how I wanted them.

My hairsticks on eBay ... let's see.

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:40:21 GMT

Well, I find it hard to price my own work, but since I love making hairsticks, I will sell my overdo work.

I've put some on eBay. After calculating a while, I decided to price them low, so people can bid on them. If people just want them, I'll price them higher. I might add a "buy it now", but I'll just see how they will go.

Here you can see my listings:

http://search.benl.ebay.be/_W0QQsassZkeltia_77

For those interested: happy bidding. I do ship international and accept paypal.

I might list more in the future. First I wanted to give up on eBay, but I might give it another try.

Show shedule

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:37:23 GMT

Musical outsider?

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:15:58 GMT

For me there are three ways I judge music in three ways: I like the song, I don't like it or I am not sure.

Now I really love folk music, especially the celtic genres, but I must admit that I consider this mainly as my favorite, most played genre. This makes me a bit of an outcast where I am now. Most people I meet online, seems to be more into metal.

*sigh* As a kid I used to be a metalhead, when everybody was into pop, R&B, grunge, ... I was a bit of an outcast back them.

Well, I must admit I became a bit tired of certain kinds of metal, especially black metal and got rid of most of my metal CD's during the years. No, I don't regret it, since I own that many CD's that I already consider it hard te classify them.

Still I kept some metal CD's and still play them from time to time. Mostly Iron Maiden, since my husband is a huge fan of that band, next to Pink Floyd. I honestly admit I prefer Iron Maiden over Pink Floyd. But that is just me. They are both great.

Just found out that I still have some old Metallica music lying around my mother's house. I am not that found of their newer stuff.

For a while I considered myself as strange liking both traditional folk and metal. What a combination! Now I think it is probably in my stars, since I am gemini. On the other hand, I discovered that folk metal does exhist as well. So maybe I am not that crazy at all.

But what the ... I don't like tagging. Tomorrow I might play some new age. It all depends on my mood.

Just wrap me up

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:30:18 GMT

Oké, this does not make sense and it does not have to, as far as I guess.

I've been thinking a bit. Yeps, I'm stuck with a badly twisted foot that kills me when I try walking on it. The positive thing is that it is raining the second day on a row and getting outside does not seem a brillant idea anyhow, although I do like to.

On the other hand: what is outside? Streets filled with shops and malls. 1001 ways to spent your money. Heum, I guess that is it.

The more I think about it, the more I get a feeling that what once was a great tool for trading is becomming the ultimate tool of power. You can have everything, of you can afford it.

You can even buy people, as far as I've heard. Well, slavetrade is officially forbidden, but still I wonder. Aren't we all slaves? Don't we all do our jobs to get that one thing we need to fullfill most of our desires?

Everything has a price tag and I guess most people are not willing to give it to you for anything else. Try to get a free icecream, for example. I wonder if they will give you one, unless you are a celeberty, that can afford buying all bystanders one. You can mock at all icecreamsellers, but be reasonable. If they give you one for free, nobody is going to be willing to pay for one and if that poor guy has to give it all away, he'll be out of business soon.

Still I miss the old days that were way before my birth, when the butcher would trade his meat for bread with the baker. I can see myself walking into a store, holding up a selfmade thing and asking if I can trade it for something else, like : "Shoemaker, can you fix me a new pair of boots for next winter? I'll knit you a new sweater."

I do love getting back into trading things, rather than buying and selling from time to time.

Now the strange thing is: everything is industrialised and the only ones that can still afford the work of artisians, are those who got them out of business in the first place.

People have become production tools and the machine is taking over at lower cost where possible. Still I think industrials will cut themselves at long term, since they will fire employees for cheaper production and to get more money. This will work for a while, but at the end there will be soo many people unemployed, that there is simply no more money to be sucked out. The system of social security, especially the one I got in my country, will make there cheap move, more costly at the end.

Why? More unemployement, means that the rates to make social security affordable, must go up for those who are still working. At the end the bosses do pay the unemployed too, simply for staying alive and gazing at there products, but being not able to buy them, since they have become more expensive.

So factories who think they are working cheap by cutting on wages and working with as few employees as possible, are actually working expensive, except that they don't get it.

And those who get it, are moving their factories to places where there is less social security and were people can work low cost. The only problem is those countries evolve to and in a couple of decades, they might have unions, schools and a social system as well. We must not forget that less than two centuries ago, our people were living in the same conditions as many of those low cost workers in the Third world are today.

Meaning: capitalists can run, but not forever. The system will collapse worldwide one day, same as communism did in the East.

And then? Then we might just get back to respecting each other's work and consider each other as equal trade partners and not as objects to be bought, sold and dumped whenever it pleases the people with the most money, who still want more.

Writer's Block: Nicknames

Thu, 22 May 2008 19:59:54 GMT

What's your nickname, and how did you get it?

View 501 Answers

I have several nicknames. Most people call me Tinne, derived from my name Martine. Sometimes I even get called Tinnieminnie by my mother. I can live with it. My husbands calls me Tinneke or Tinnemie.

Check out this album

Mon, 19 May 2008 16:07:10 GMT

Copy protection

Sat, 17 May 2008 21:54:21 GMT

I don't mind that they copy protect CD's, but I hate it that I can't play them on my computer and lately they start sounding weird on my portable CD player as well.

Don't mind me. I really do not like dragging the stereo up for cleaning upstairs and I don't prefer doing it with my mp3 player, since I know my handyness and it might end up in the bucket with water, if I want to rince my rag.

And now record companies are complaining that they sell less CD's. But they forget that they have more mp3 sells. Alright, they even protect them well either.

I don't have an iPod, but a simple mp3 player. Once I downloaded some songs on iTunes. Turned out I could only play them on my laptop in my iTunes library and I couldn't burn them either, even if they said I could. My program does not recognize the format and so ... a crash made me realize I still prefer CD's I can rip to my computer.

But some record companies are making that less possible for me and now they might start wondering why people buy less.

Battle of the sexes

Wed, 14 May 2008 15:37:01 GMT

Well, I sometimes wonder about things. I must admit that interaction between men and women have always sort of fascinated me.

As a woman I don't like the way some cultures would treat me. This brought something to my attention attention.

I figured out that somehow I never minded being to only woman in a company. Still don't. I might easily get along with men and like having them around. And no: I still feel seldom attracted to one.

There goes my theory that as far as I can make up, somebody once told me that our society is actually turning things the wrong way. That person, a man I met as a kid, said that the church does not have to mock on homosexuals, since they might have even created some.

According to him, he said that it is only normal that straight people prefer to be around people of the opposite sex, but that we have turned things into something sexual.

Some cultural aspects have indeed downgraded interhumain relationships to nothing but sex, if you ask me. It's for exemple in some countries still prohibited for a woman to show her face to another man then her husband, brother or father, because otherwise the devil might get involved.

They also used to seperate the boys from the girls in schools. So kids were actually not allowed to communicate with people of the opposite sex and surely teenagers were kept down.

I really don't know if that old friend of the family was right, saying this might have provoced homosexual relationships. On the other hand: I do thing it screwed up the way people look at each other.

Then came the next problem: the revoltion. Free love and other hippie madness. Oké, first sex was strictly forbidden outside a marriage, now it was sort of a must.

Personally I do think people must find their own morals, as long as they don't hurt anybody. But I think both sides were wrong and can cause misery. I think good frienships might get screwed up in some ways.

As I said: as a teenager I had many mascular friends and I still have, but I honestly don't feel the need to have sex with them and I never did. For one reason I prefer to stick with my husband on that, because that is what makes him really special.

I guess many relationships might work better as friends than as lovers. Maybe that declares the divorce rates. I get sick from all those statistics that give people the impression that they are not normal, if they don't sleep with everybody you might like. For me that is absurd.

first heat

Thu, 08 May 2008 20:04:00 GMT

Yes, I can finally wear my new summer dresses I bought.

It's warm and sunny. The only downside is that while enjoying that, my urticaria is there as well and there is no remedy to it. I try to avoid the warmest parts of the day, but I hate being locked up.

Sunburn

Tue, 06 May 2008 21:11:36 GMT

This always happens to me the first sunny days. I've been out all day arranging groceries, paperwork and whatever.

Well, my face looks a nice red and my neck hurts. Besides that: my feet are open and ... I just feel fine.

Maybe it was a little too warm at once for me. I had the feeling it took me at least half an hour for a walk I usually do in fifteen minutes.

The downside of being a housewife

Thu, 01 May 2008 15:36:38 GMT

First of all I had to say that last night's Clannad concert was simple briljant. I had the change to have the book I bought there signed by the bandmembers and even had my picture taken with Maire Brennan. This was really great.

But now I am starting to realize that since my husband is working, I'm spending much time alone. I went alone to the concert. That was not a bid deal, since I did chat with people out there. I'm not a wall flower as we call it here.

Still I easily get bored. Sometimes I feel completely useless. I know I have my pets I take care of and there is always something to do around the house, still these four walls are starting to annoy me pretty badly.

I really want to go out, but sometimes I have no clue where. My friends all have jobs and I lost contact with many durig the years. Actually I've never been that popular and I got used to being alone. Sometimes I prefered loneliness over being bullied. I had to face it: other kids only wanted to turn my life into complete hell and I never really had that many friends.
Most of my life I lived in my own world, that was completely mine. I invented my fictious friends and actually never spoke about them. Never and to nobody. After a while I forgot them anyhow.

I want to have something to do. Since I have not much of a degree and no working experience, finding a job, surely at my age became impossible. The reason I remained at home was simply because in the past my husband and I both were unempoyed and he fell under a much better system than I did, so it was a bit of economics at that time. After a while I simply gave up on looking.

The only thing that keeps me going is the hope that one day I will accomplish something great and I might be helpful for something. Till now ... I just pass my time.

Also I deceided to stop having contact with my mother, since she is always a mental torture to me and makes me feel even more depressed as I am. I know I never was much of a student and all my ambitions ended with trial and more error. She does not have face me all the time with that.

I have to admit that the only reason I endured my mother was gratitude for the fact that she was a big financial help for me and me husband when times were really tough and we were not able to pull trough. Now that is gone and yes thing get rough. My husband found a job, but this left us with a payment gap and much bills to pay.

My husband would not let me go back to be tortured again by my mother. Personally I do know I can not show gratitude to her, because she will not take it and bully me for the fact that we need her help, that she had always offered, without me asking for it.

Well, this hurts. I know I love my mother, but she won't accept it. If small things go wrong, I'm always the big evil and she claims to be hurt beyond repair, while according to her, I'm a cruel, hartless, egoistic bitch. This really hurts and always makes me so depressed, I often tried to commit suicide.

If it were not for my husband, I think I would have, if I had to endure my mother's mental tirrany much longer. She really won't stop until you break with her mental terror. She won't accept appologies and she will hold every small detail against you for the rest of your life.

The worst thing about it: for the other world she is showing herself as the most briljant angel on earth and many people have turned against me, if I even dare to comment her. This puts me back in a spiral of loneliness.

I wish I could tell me mother that I am not ungrateful and that she would love me the way I am, but I know she can't. I always end up double hurt: first because I never got the degrees I really wanted, but were simply to hard for me to get and otherwise, I also dissappointed her.

Everything I ever wanted in my live went wrong. I really stopped hoping, because every hope I've ever had, turned out wrong and hurted me even more than I wanted.

I never wanted to be a housewife. This was the last thing I had in mind. I wanted to become a social worker, or whatever job in which I could have helped people, except for a nurse, since I know I could not take that physically. Also my mother was a nurse and if she tells me what her jobs has become the last years of her carreer, that would not be great for me either.

So now I'm useless and hoping I might accomplish something great one day, although I have a feeling that I will end up forgotten for good.

This really pisses me off

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:37:05 GMT

I always have a feeling that people who consider themselves above animals show how much lower they really are in the way they treat them.

This sort of things upset me:

http://www.onevoice-ear.org/english/campaigns/china/dog_report.html

So I signed the petition, hoping the Chinese government will draw it's conclusions:

http://www.onevoice-ear.org/combattre/petitions/petition_chine_english.html

I did not see that poster!

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:18:46 GMT

Today something hit me. I was waiting for a streetcar to arrive when I saw a poster: Clannad is comming to my town on the 30th and I did not know about it!

So I hurried home. We went online to see and all the lowest price tickets were sold out. But since my husband is working that day and I'm having some difficulties with my mother, my husband bought me the most expensive tickt. OK, I'll have to go alone, but better that than nothing.

Seems like all my wishes are comming trough. Last year I saw The Dubliners, which was really on my whishlist. Now Clannad.

Now let's hope for a miracle that I might see some other artists on my whishlist perform.

Inside the monster

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:20:45 GMT

Yes, there is a large monster captured and chained down here in Antwerp, just in front of our Central train station.

I could not help myself to find out what it was like to be swallowed by it. You could visit it inside. To be honest: it was pretty creapy to see the hart moving and find corpses in the guts.

But I survived and am glad I took the trip. It was a special kind of ghost house.

I took a picture of the beast with my cell phone:

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/8213/afb006il0.jpg

White Easter

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 11:28:37 GMT

There is no snow here, but in some areas in Western-Europe, they did not have white Christmas, but they are having a white Easter in stead.

Western Europe welcomes spring with snow

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:19:07 GMT

This morning I noticed some melting snow was falling here in Belgium this morning.

In Germany, traffic is blocked by snow. And today spring starts.

Now it is sunny here. Try to get the weather!

Myspace down?

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:57:27 GMT

Several times I tried to post to my Myspace account today, but as soon as I log in, the browser freezes or I get the message that the page can't be found.

Strange! This must be a technical problem. If I go to the URL www.myspace.com/martinekeltickitten it loads, so my account isn't deleted. By the way: I wouldn't know why, since I am sure I did not violated any rule.

Stil this is very annoying, since I had a mail with a new friends request I had to look into. Probably one I deny, since I lately get more indecent proposals from men that does not seem to get it that I am a married woman and that I am only using the site for friendship and networking.

What you can read on my blog there, is the same as what I post here, but now I think I made my decision on which blog is best. I never had any problems with LJ here and less people bothering me. Actually, I think it is quite quiet here.

Wrong dress

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:10:46 GMT

A couple of days ago I ordered a dress by a seller on eBay, I did several good business with before. Now, the first time, I got the wrong item.
I ordered a completely different dress then the one I ordered. This upsetted me quite a bit, since the dress I got was the same color and size, but a different style. At first glimpse I really hated it, while the dress I bought, was one I was really looking forward to.
I contacted the seller and hopes this gets solved out. The only thing I hate is that sending it back from Belgium to India will cost me as much as the garment itself, beacuse of the crappy dollar course.

For the moment I am still waiting for the seller's respons. I took a picture of the wrong dress, to prove I received a different one than the auction I won.
Now I hope the seller will give me a positive answer, so I don't have to undergo a paypal dispute. I still want the dress I payed for, but if I have to sent back the wrong dress, this will be very expensive for me.