Month: January 2023

“Si el Real Madrid me dice en verano que tengo que salir, lo aceptaré”,declaraba en una entrevista al diario Mark a mediados de noviembre, apenasunos días después de comenzar los entrenamientos rumbo a Qatar. En sus propiaspalabras, el Mundial se presentaba como el último tren para relanzar unacarrera que parecía abocada a los sinsabores del ocaso y su adiós no dejódemasiadas concesiones para la esperanza: con Bélgica jugándose el pase a carade perro contra Croacia, Hazard saltaba al campo en los minutos finals comoquinto y último cambio. Si uno repara en aquella declaración sobre su futuroen el Real Madrid, quizás no parezca exagerado pensar que el primero en darpor perdido al mejor Hazard haya sido el propio Hazard.

Como antes ocurriera con Gareth Bale, nos queda la duda de saber cuántopesaron las lesiones y cuánto la sensación de objetivo cumplido al versevestidos de blanco. El galés, al menos, puso algo de su parte, a menudodesconcertado porque sus aportaciones nunca parecían suficientes en el seno deuna grada que adoraba a otros ídolos y la tomaba con él en cuanto aparecía conun palo de golf en las portadas. A Hazard, en cambio, acostumbra el Bernabéu atratarlo con cierta indiferencia, como si nada importara demasiado porque nadase espera ya de él.

A Ronaldo, hoy apodado oficialmente el Phenomeno —aunque la mayoría sigamossusurrando lo del Gordon para diferenciarlo de Cristiano y agrandar un pocomás su leyenda—, le pusieron el nombre del médico que asistió a su madredurante el parto. “Mi padre le llevó tres kilos de camarones que recogió en laplaya porque no le podíamos pagar, y luego me pusieron el nombre del doctor”.En la Biblia, se dice que Dios plantó un huerto en Edén y allí puso al hombreque había formado: quizás no explique nada de lo ocurrido con Hazard en losúltimos tiempos, pero es un comienzo.

R. Honda sabía que yo me lo estaba pensando. Ellos me sentaron al terminarel último Dakar y me pidieron continuar. Insistieron, querian saber. Ya lesdije que necesitaba llegar a casa y ver el físico, pero agradecí su interés.Desde el equipo estuvieron preguntándome hasta el último momento si podía ir aAbu Dabi para la Desert Challenge [en febrero de 2022]. Dije que no:físicamente no podía y,además, quería dure un tiempo. Allí tomaron, supongo,la decision de coger un piloto más joven para poder seguir todo el Mundial de_rally raids_. El equipo se ha quedado así, pero desde Japón siempre ha habidointerés. Si queria correr tenian una moto preparada para mí, y así ha sido.

Mas informacion

P. ¿El apoyo que recibe es el mismo que un piloto oficial?

R. Si. He firmado un contrato con HRC como todos los años. Estoy en elequipo, pero la imagen es distinta por un tema logístico y de presupuesto.Esta opción de venir bajo otro nombre abría la puerta a estar aquí. Estuveprobando estos últimos meses en California y desarrollando los nuevoselementos que llevamos algunos de los pilotos aquí.

P. Ha entrenado a tope, pero no ha acumulado kilometros. ¿Como le affecta?

R. Sobre el papel no ayuda. La mayoría de los pilotos necesitan disputarcarreras para no perder ritmo. Siempre he buscado encontrar sensaciones yritmo durante los entrenamientos. The tenido siempre entrenamientos muyintensos, con GPS y road books más exigentes que los de las carreras. Poresto creo que no debería notar tanto la falta de ritmo. Confío en los últimosmeses de trabajo, las sensaciones son muy buenas.

P. ¿Qué pensó cuando vio que otra lesión podía fastidiarle la carrera?

R. Fu duro. Por la tarde fui al camión a conectarme, porque no habíacobertura móvil, y estuve hablando con familiares. Me veia mal, lo veia feo.Tenía mucho dolor, el pie bombeando, hinchadísimo. Me puse una bolsa de heelo,me la anudé al pie y así dormí toda la noche. Bajó mucho la hinchazon. Cuandoestaba probándome la bota ni entraba, tuve que pillar una talla más. Cuandoterminé la siguiente etapa fue una sensación de alivio. Valoro el simple hechode poder seguir, por encima de cualquier resultado.

Joan Barreda durante la etapa del Dakar de este miércoles.FRANCK FIFE (AFP)

P. ¿Qué es lo que más le cuesta de todo esto?

R. El hospital. No quería volver a ir, es lo que peor llevo. Haber estadotantas veces, pensar que puede volver ocurrir. El rally es un deporteincreíble, te transmite sensaciones únicas, pero la parte de riesgo está muycerca. Si quisiera bajar el nivel de exigencia quizás cambiaría, pero no soyasí. De momento, sigue pesando más el momento en que me subo a la moto. Sientoque estoy vivo. Fuerte, fisica y mentalmente. Me he ganado la vida así, yagradezco lo vivido, pero hay más cosas.

P. Es la cuarta incursión en Arabia Saudí, pero hay territorios nuevos,¿Cuál cree que será la clave de la prueba?

R. Hay que prestar mucha atención a esta primera semana. Terreno entrevalles, navegación complicada. Un solo error puede costar mucho. La segundasemana, con mucha arena, es un terreno que siempre se me ha dado bien. No seráfacil marcar diferencias. Sobre las huellas todo el mundo va rápido.

P. ¿Cuál es el objetivo final?

R. Buf, faltan diez dias. Este Dakar es una locura, el ritmo que llevamostodos los de arriba es altísimo, sin cometer errores de navegación, haciéndolotodo perfecto. El objetivo es estar ahí, al nivel de los mejores. Me gustaríaque no hubiera ninguna caída grande ni grandes pérdidas.

P. Pero ya se ha hecho daño y roto el dedo, ¿cómo sigue?

R. sacrificio. Nunca me han regalado nada, lo he luchado todo desde bienpequeño. Supongo que esto moldea la personalidad. Tiene sus cosas buenas y suscosas malas, pero así me ha ido y aquí estoy ahora. Además, lo del año pasado[compitió con la clavícula y la pelvis rota] fue mucho peor que lo de ahora.Al final, lo del dedo es solo una molestia.

P. Pese a la lesión, ha vuelto a ganar, y está a cuatro victorias de etapaigualar el récord, en moto, de Peterhansel y Despres. ¿Le motive poderalcanzarles?

R. Nunca he pensado demasiado en estas cosas, pero cuando te fijas en ellote das cuenta de lo que significa. Me enormously. No será fácil conseguirlo,pero si sale es por una cuestión de estilo. Con la nueva normativa ni pensaréen frenar en alguna etapa. Ahora no te quedas con cara de tonto contra los quesalen a la autopista [abrir pista conlleva ahora bonificaciones de hasta cincominutos].

JoanBarreda durante la segunda etapa del Dakar.AFP7 via Europa Press (AFP7 viaEuropa Press)

P. ¿Le interesaría cambiar de disciplina, pasarse a los coches?

R. No le he dado vueltas, porque disfruto tanto cuando me subo a la moto…Ese es mi problema. Tambien depende de los proyectos. Si se abre el mercado yla competición, quizás pueda ser interesante.

P. ¿Qué planes tiene para la retirada? ¿Algún sueño o idea?

R. He empezado un proyecto de construcción de circuitos en Castellón. Allítenemos a los mejores pilotos de mocros entrenando. Ahora queremos ampliar elproyecto en una zona muy bonita cerca del mar. Es un no parar.

P. ¿Echa de menos un Touareg en la vitrina?

R. Me gustaría conseguirlo, pero estoy tan agradecido de poder habercumplido el sueño de aquel niño de nueve años… Vengo de una familia súperhumilde, y poder haber llegado hasta aquí lo valoro mucho. Uno siempre quieremás, pero en realidad no me falta de nada.

Since the BOOS episode, many companies have become more aware of transgressivebehaviour, there will be a national action plan and the taboo surroundingsexual violence finally seems to be lifted. However, according to experts,there are also risks in dealing with the subject. The focus would be too muchon the working atmosphere, while this occurs even more often in personalspheres.

At Victim Support Netherlands, there was 25 percent more work over the pastyear as a whole after the revelations about The Voice. Jiska Dijk is apsychosocial advisor at Victim Support Netherlands and emphasizes howsignificant that is. “That more people report is great, but we can only reallyhelp people if they are willing to take the next steps in the process. Thatwas also the case now. We have provided more legal support, more people inpeer groups and more requests for recovery mediation had.”

Reverse

Dijk thinks it is a good thing that the threshold for reporting has becomelower, but also sees a downside. “There is a lot of attention for sexuallytransgressive behavior in the workplace, but the vast majority of cases ofsexual violence take place in the home. If we want to tackle sexual violenceon a large scale, it has to start there.”

Words taken from the heart of Iva Bićanić, psychologist and founder of theNational Center for Sexual Violence. She also sees that people, especiallyyoung people, talk more about sexual abuse: the number of reports doubled inthe past year.

But she also sees a downside. “This whole story of sexual misconduct in theworkplace distracts us from another serious problem: sexual abuse in the home.It’s becoming more common and wreaking havoc even more.”

Protocols

According to Bićanić, we have to be careful not to focus too much on a limitedpart of the problem: “It is always about protocols for the workplace, butnobody thinks about the protocols for families”. She sees risks of abuse,especially in blended families.

“Two people fall in love and move in with each other, but their children whodon’t share anything with each other suddenly have to do something with eachother. Then if you have a four-year-old who is fascinated by nudity – like allfour-year-olds – and a big brother of thirteen , then cross-border situationscan arise relatively easily.”

When is transgressive behavior punishable and when is it not? In the videobelow, criminal lawyer Diantha van Eijsden explains how this works:

Carlijn van der Vliet (34) was sexually abused by her brother from the age ofseven to the age of fourteen. For years she had therapy before she could moveon with her life. “It is very difficult to be open about sexual abuse as avictim. There are always judgments from others. And you already have thatyourself, you also ask yourself whether you are guilty or could have donesomething else.”

cesspool open

With the opinions about The Voice, acquaintances also approached Carlijn withquestions. “People who are further away from me suddenly dared to saysomething. I got questions about me like ‘why didn’t you ever talk about itthen?’ For people who have never talked before, all the attention is probablyvery nice. But for people who have already dealt with this, not necessarily.The cesspool really opened up again for me and I have been upset for a largepart of 2022, I felt gloomy and insecure.”

Although it is good that sexual abuse can be discussed, this does not yetoffer the solution, according to Van der Vliet and Bićanić. Just as resistancetraining will not make a difference.

“Those trainings are based on a clear boundary that must be guarded, but thetreacherous thing is that that boundary is not so clear for children,” saysBićanić. “Only with the man in the bushes, but that’s rarely the point. It’sabout a boundary that is being stretched further and further by someone youknow well and trust. If you then say that resilience training could haveprevented it, you say to such a a child ‘why haven’t you been more resilient’,which reinforces the feeling of guilt.”

resilience

That the solution does not lie in resilience, is something that Van der Vlietrecognizes: “What my brother did to me actually consisted of two phases: firstonly abuse, and the last year and a half rape because I stood up for myself.”

Bićanić recognizes that: “Sexual abuse happens because someone in power wantsit to. It’s not prevented by a child who doesn’t want it.”

If talking and working on resilience is not a solution, what is? According topsychologist Bićanić, the biggest problem lies in tackling sexual abuse insociety. “People who have not been abused themselves say that stories aboutabuse fill them with anger, powerlessness and disgust. But also disbelief.People simply cannot imagine it.”

“But it’s close, it’s everywhere,” Bićanić says. “In most cases, perpetratorsare not monsters or hunters, but ordinary people, often even with sincerefeelings. Sexual abuse is not normal, but unfortunately it is normal. As asociety, we cannot afford to look at celebrities and think that only there isthe problem. People do not want to face the fact that this can also happen intheir own family.”

Safe home situation

According to Bićanić, if you want to tackle sexual abuse at its roots, youwill not end up with education, but with families themselves. “What wouldreally help is to ensure that children grow up in safe families. Children whogrow up in unsafe families run a greater risk of both becoming victims andperpetrators. Or both. But safe families for all children, how do you do that

Adil El Arbi makes all his films together with his companion Bilall Fallah.But the Edegem resident shares his life with Loubna Khalkhali, a journalist atthe editorial office of Rudi Vranckx at the VRT, who grew up in Hoboken. Theyoung couple has since moved to Brussels to live closer to the VRT, but LoubnaKhalkhali misses the Metropolis. “I’m always here on weekends,” she confessedin an interview with your newspaper.

It was a special year for Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah as well as for AdilEl Arbi and Loubna Khalkhali. The directors delivered their most personal filmever: Rebel, about a young man who ends up with IS and whose brother is alsorecruited. The film received critical acclaim and is now conquering the MiddleEast. Their series ran at the same time on the pay channel Disney + Ms.Marvel, about the young Muslim woman and superheroine Kamala. “She is atribute to my wife,” says Adil El Arbi. “Fighting for what is right, a greatsense of responsibility, down to earth … But Nakia, Kamala’s best friend, alsocontains elements of my wife. Wearing a headscarf and the colorful clothingstyle.”

Loubna Khalkhali does indeed wear her headscarf in an original way. “For mepersonally, it is not a political or religious symbol, but part of my culturalheritage. I’ve struggled with it, that’s why I wear it my own way, when andhow I want. Fashionable, with my hair visible. I like to combine my scarf withnice outfits and striking colors: this is how I try to counter the idea of​​the oppressed, invisible woman.”

Adil El Arbi and Loubna Khalkhali got married last year, but this summer theythrew a big party in Tangier. With the guest of honor the American actor WillSmith. “But my parents were more impressed by Rudi Vranckx,” says Loubna. Twodays later for Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah the damper came on the joy:Warner Bros canceled their unfinished film bat girl for financial reasons. Thefilm will never be shown. “A traumatic experience,” Bilall Fallah called it.

But in the fall, beautiful pictures of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah andLoubna Khalkhali on pilgrimage in Mecca appeared on social media. “One of thehappiest days of our lives,” they write.

On December 21, it was exactly ten years ago that Bart De Wever took the oathas mayor of Antwerp. He was already eight years chairman of the party and hestill is. 2022 was not really a pleasant year for De Wever. In the first placebecause one of his four children suffered from serious mental problems and hadto be hospitalized for a while. “I can only be as happy as my unluckiestchild,” the mayor said in an interview with your newspaper.

In the meantime, things rumble every now and then in his city coalition.Alderman Tom Meeuws (Vooruit) is regularly transverse. It even got to thepoint that members of Open Vld and Vooruit, coalition partners of De Wever,joined the demonstration against the cuts in the cultural world. “I think itis unwise to argue against something that you have decided yourself,” said DeWever.

In February he traveled to Colombia together with his Rotterdam colleagueAhmed Aboutaleb. They wanted to set up a collaboration with the Colombians inthe hope of stopping more cocaine at the source. In the meantime, one attackfollowed another in the Antwerp drug environment. Shots were fired at housesor heavy fireworks were set off, resulting in a lot of damage. The attackersalso regularly hit the wrong house.

Throughout the year, De Wever continued to press for more help for the policeand judiciary in Antwerp. Furthermore, the N-VA chairman did not miss anopportunity to criticize the federal Vivaldi government. “Our prosperity isbeing sacrificed on the altar of Alexander De Croo’s ambitions”, is just oneof his many frontal attacks on Vivaldi.

The only thing Gert Verhulst had never done in his professional life was tomake a serious talk show. This year it was so far. The first broadcast came inSeptember The Table of Four on the tube. Immediately one of the most talkedabout programs of the season. Verhulst got into a storm because he repeatedlyused the word ‘negro’ during a discussion about woke in the first broadcast.The outrage over this was so great that he had to apologize.

“I believe that when you talk about something, you should call the child byhis name,” said Verhulst. “The way in which, the tone and the use itself, weclearly made an error of judgment. I admit that. I have hurt people with thatand worse than I could have imagined beforehand.”

During and after the following episodes of Table of Four it remained calm. Theviewing figures hover around 200,000.

That is only a fifth of the number of viewers for Gert Verhulst when heparticipated in The Smartest Man In The World. That program averaged onemillion viewers. The best viewed episode of this season was the one with, yes,Gert Verhulst, Ella Leyers and Jonas Geirnaert: no fewer than 1,249,000viewers.

In between, Verhulst announced a new Studio 100 musical for next year: RedStar Line. Even more spectacular and grander than all previous ones.

When his dog Marcel died, Verhulst shared his grief with Flanders. On thereality soaps The Verhulstjes the viewers could follow Marcel’s healthclosely. Hundreds of animal lovers expressed their condolences on his passing.

Despite all the doom and gloom of education, there are still many truly happyteachers. Everywhere and in all schools, but especially in Alberreke primaryschool in Antwerp. This has been scientifically proven by the organizationKlassewerkplek

He wants to do something about the teacher shortage and has been putting thespotlight on schools in the Netherlands for years, where teachers are happy towork and continue to work. This year, Klassewerkplek conducted research inFlemish schools for the first time.

Urban primary school Alberreke in Antwerp has been officially declared the’primary school with the most job satisfaction’.

Naturally, that trophy makes director Bart Jonckers and all his colleagueseven happier than they already were. Alberreke is a small school. From thefirst kindergarten to the sixth grade there are 230 students and thirty peoplework there. More than 85% of them took part in the survey on their happiness.And apparently they were all very positive. How did that happen?

Bart Jonckers sees himself primarily as a listener and point of contact. “Itreat my colleagues like professionals,” he says. “I talk to them about theirvision on education. Every minute we can talk about education is a minutegained.”

His approach works, confirms care teacher Silke, who has been teaching inAlberreke for sixteen years. “Our bond is strong,” she says. “We all know eachother well, even though we are from different generations. We help each otherwhere we can and also see each other outside the school walls.”

The school was also in the news this year because it took in and guided sevenUkrainian refugee children quite soon after the start of the war.

On Thursday 5 January you will discover who is in 5th and 4th place.

When Netflix started developing its own TV series, a lot of focus was placedon the term ‘creative freedom’. Major film and series makers such as DavidFincher ( House of Cards ) and Jenji Kohan ( Orange Is the New Black )were also persuaded to work with the new streaming service by the promise ofautonomy. More than ten years later, a different wind is blowing: sometimes itseems as if the algorithm is calling the shots and that people, hunting forviewing records and new subscribers, dare to take far fewer risks. The flow ofpredictable series with recognizable elements is large.

However, watch for a few minutes Copenhague Cowboy and you notice that thereis still room for quirky projects in 2023. On paper, this surreal andbeautifully crafted thriller series from Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn( Drive , Only God Forgives , The Neon Demon ) not really complicated orchallenging. Refn returns with __this Danish series returns to his homecountry for the first time in almost twenty years, where it all started forhim with the crime films from the pusher -trilogy. It is his second seriesafter the one made for Prime Video Too Old to Die Young.

The story revolves around the mysterious Miu, a woman who ventures into thedark underworld of Copenhagen. She seeks revenge and encounters severalenemies from the city’s crime scene. The style is recognizable to anyone whohas seen Winding Refn’s previous work: beautifully crafted shots with lots ofneon lighting, constantly rotating cameras and a thumping soundtrack full ofsynths. Just like in, among other things Drive follows a taciturnprotagonist who moves in a gloomy, violent world. Then it was Ryan Gosling,now Angela Bundalovic.

Little Miu looks fragile at first as she walks around in her blue tracksuit.“I’m crushing your doll face,” an Asian crime boss tells her before they starta fight. But Miu is very strong and may have supernatural abilities, althoughit is not made clear what exactly she can do.

Pigs

At the beginning of the series, Miu ends up in a brothel that could also be aslaughterhouse. “We are in hell,” says one of the sex workers present. Anelderly woman lives in this place who thinks Miu is a ‘good luck charm’. Thewoman hopes to get pregnant thanks to her presence. “Four hundred years agothey would have burned you,” says the woman. Now she can perform miracles. Itis clear that Miu must escape. Later, she tries to save a kidnapped child,among other things, and goes to work for the shady Miroslav, played by ZlatkoBuric, a familiar face in the Winding Refn universe.

Magnus Nordenhof Jonck / Netflix

Magnus Nordenhof Jonck / Netflix

Magnus Nordenhof Jonck / Netflix

The six episodes take the viewer to different locations, from a Chineserestaurant and a castle to the streets of Copenhagen and dangerous pigsties.And it’s not just the pigs that scream and grunt Copenhague Cowboy : Thereis also a man walking around in the series who makes pig noises.

Ambiance

Plot is of secondary importance, it’s all about atmosphere. Winding Refn hasbeen given carte blanche and can completely lose himself in his surreal,dreamlike world. Almost all scenes look beautiful and are often illuminatedwith red, blue or white neon light. At the same time they are incredibly slow,sometimes to the point of being ridiculous. The minimal dialogues contain longpauses, while the inscrutable gaze of the protagonist reveals little.

As a viewer you have enough time to think about the theme and ideas behind thebizarre images. Are we looking at something genius? Or to pretentiousnonsense? It’s a question that lingers to the end. This reviewer isn’t quiteout of it even now. Sometimes the series is reminiscent of the latter TwinPeaks season from David Lynch, mixed with a little Kill Bill. However, itnever gets as exciting as those examples.

The director himself sees the series as his version of a female superherostory. “After doing a trilogy about masculinity, it was a natural progressionto femininity,” he says in the podcast Crew Call. He developed the serieswith a team of female writers and gave roles to his daughters Lola andLizzielou.

Superhero

Winding Refn got after the success of Drive all kinds of offers to docommercial projects. When asked if he has considered making a real superheroblockbuster, he says. “Hollywood is very seductive, but it is also a systemthat is hopelessly falling apart,” he said in the same podcast. “I would liketo make something big, but I want to keep my creative freedom.” That’s almostimpossible in Hollywood these days. “I have always cherished my independence.If you have to struggle all day to finally reach a compromise, what kind ofexample am I for my own children?”

The execution may not quite work in this case, but it is hopeful that even inthe rapidly changing landscape of streaming there remains room for such anuncompromising series that is not afraid to challenge the viewer. Thesupernatural elements Copenhague Cowboy come to the fore towards the end ofthe season and the director builds towards a second season. Whether or notthat will happen will depend on a variety of factors.

It seems certain that many people will drop out after the first episode. AndNetflix may still have room for creative minds, but the company has becomemore ruthless in scrapping series. The fact that the apparently successfulseries 1899 this week after one season cancelled , offers little hope. Butwho knows, just like his main character, Winding Refn can also work miracles.

Search all of our series reviews on, among other things, rating, genre and

Opex Arno’s swan song, was accepted by the readers of Humo voted bestBelgian record of the year. Because a reaction from Arno is no longer anoption, we called Mirko Banovic, bass player and Arno’s right-hand man formany years in the studio, on stage and when writing songs.

Jurgen BeckerJanuary 4, 20233:00 PM

Mirko Banovic: “Arno and I have always had a very good connection, bothmusically and humanly. If necessary, I can be very honest and _to the point_and I think he appreciated that.”

Do you remember when you first met Arno?

Banovic: “That must have been at the Lokerse Feesten, in 1998 if I’m notmistaken. He asked me to come over to his apartment and talk about music. Notmuch later, things got very hectic at an audition. ‘Play da ne times’, ‘Do netimes sister’, ‘Do ne times like this’… I thought: what the fuck is that allhere? After two or three songs Arno said: “It’s done, I’m gone.” I thought hemeant he didn’t like it, but suddenly his manager was standing next to me witha list of tour dates. Arno had already left, apparently he had an appointmentwith a madam ( laughs ).”

How hard was it making that last record with him?

Banovic: “Heavy. Afterwards we were all devastated. Arno wanted to make astatement at all costs, as a parting gift of sorts, and because he wanted tobe in it 100 percent, he refused to take painkillers. Because we didn’t knowhow much time we had, we also had to work very quickly. When Arno was tired,he would go home, and sometimes I would have to reluctantly call him and say,”I need another take.” Whatever he got out of it despite the pain: I couldn’tdo it.”

‘La vérité’ sounds like it was sung with his last breath.

Banovic: “’La vérité’, ‘I Can’t Dance’ and ‘One Night With You’ were the lastthings we recorded. And his vocal take of ‘La paloma adieu’, the duet withMireille Mathieu.”

With songs like ‘Honnête’ and ‘Boulettes’ there was also room for humor on’Opex’.

Banovic: “He didn’t want the whole record to point to the fact that it was theend. There also had to be those typically surrealistic ones fuck you songson. ‘Boulettes’, that’s actually literally kiss my balls, isn’t it ( laughs). Raising his middle finger, that was very important to him, right up to thelast moment.”

What was your best moment with him?

Banovic: “If I had to choose one, it would be the one on which he, at the veryend of the recordings of Opex , said to the musicians: ‘Guests, I love youso much, thank you for giving me strength.’ A little later, as he was leaving,he said to drummer Sam Gysel: ‘Sam, see you then, huh’. To which Sam, whowas still working on an overdub, said: ‘Yeah yeah, see you.’ He never sawhim again.”

A quote from you: ‘If you sat next to Arno on the plane, you were guaranteedto have coffee all over your pants.’ Something you won’t miss?

Banovic ( laughs ): “On the train, the plane, the car… If you took itsomewhere, your car was a garbage can anyway. A sandwich under the seat, aspilled coke, you name it. Arno was chaotic, it was stronger than himself. Onthe plane, he was guaranteed to piss at the time of take-off. Or if there wasjust food in front of you. He would have been happy to have a private jet from

From chaos comes order, to paraphrase Nietzsche.

And that is certainly the hope in the new year when it comes to the DCExtended Universe, which endured the most tumultuous 12 months of any studiodivision in 2022. Amid the upheaval, the release plan for the upcoming “TheFlash” teetered following a series of arrests and meltdowns involving its starEzra Miller, closely guarded “Aquaman” deal points were laid bare in theJohnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial, and the $78 million “Batgirl” moviewas permanently shelved in post-production as a write- down. All that was justan appetizer for an executive shake-up that landed James Gunn and Peter Safranin the DC driver’s seat. But perhaps nothing was as dramatic as Henry Cavillreturning briefly as Superman in a “Black Adam” cameo in October, only to losethe gig two months later.

More from Variety

As 2023 kicks off, DC bosses Gunn and Safran continue to sift through therubble and will soon reveal their three-year interconnected vision for thecinematic universe, which won’t include Cavill’s Superman or Wonder Woman atall. But things could have gone in an alternative direction: Behind thescenes, a different group made a play for control of DC. Not long after theWarner Bros. Discovery merger closed in April, Dwayne Johnson directly pitchedCEO David Zaslav on a multiyear plan for Black Adam and a Cavill-led Supermanin which the two properties would interweave, setting up a Superman-versus-Black Adam showdown, sources say. “Black Adam” producers Hiram Garcia, who isJohnson’s former brother-in-law, and Beau Flynn also were part of the braintrust looking to take DC down a new path. Other sources confirmed the meetingbut downplayed any discussion of Black Adam’s future.

Story continues

Although the move took place amid a power vacuum created as former DC headWalter Hamada and Warner Bros. film chief Toby Emmerich prepared to exit, itruffled feathers internally, sources add. “Dwayne went around everyone, whichdidn’t sit well,” says one.

Eventually, new Warner Bros. film co-heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdyapproved a Cavill cameo in “Black Adam,” despite the fact that Emmerich hadmade the call in 2018 to find another actor to don the red cape.

But “Black Adam,” which bowed Oct. 21, fizzled with a $391 million worldwidehaul against a $195 budget plus $40 million in reshoots, scuttling any plansfor more outings for the lightning bolt-wielding antihero and officiallyending the Cavill Superman era. Cavill parted ways with his manager, Johnson’sex-wife Dany Garcia, this year, but a source says it was unrelated to the DCdrama and she remains a strategic adviser to the actor. Meanwhile, theJohnson-Warners relationship already was wearing thin after Johnson pushed fora producing credit on the animated film “DC League of Super-Pets,” whichopened in July, but did little to promote it. The actor also insisted on atequila bar at the New York premiere of “Black Adam” featuring his Teremanabrand, despite the film being rated PG-13.

“His demands increased and the returns just weren’t there,” notes anotherinsider.

Still, box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian says Johnson found himself in “aCatch-22” with “Black Adam.” “You can’t have a more modest budget when thislevel of talent is involved,” he notes of Johnson’s track record. “Budgets arecommensurate with the talent involved. Something with a lower budget like’Shazam!’ is dubbed a hit, because ‘hits’ are based more on profitability.”

“Shazam!” earned $366 million worldwide in 2019 off a $100 million budget.Dergarabedian notes that “Black Adam” still managed to crack the box officetop 10 for 2022.

As for what else Gunn and Safran have planned for DC’s future, sourcesdescribe it as a broad but not blanket reset. At this point, nothing is ruledout. Given that Miller has stayed out of trouble since beginning mental healthtreatment in the summer, some executives are amenable to continuing with theactor as the world-saving speedster after “The Flash” bows on June 16.“Aquaman,” “Shazam!, ” “Blue Beetle” and Gunn’s “Peacemaker” series for HBOMax all could have a place at the table. Gunn and Safran, who were recommendedby De Luca, have the full backing of the WBD top ranks.

And in a testament to the notion that no Hollywood relationship is ever trulysevered, “Batgirl” directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah tell _variety_that they are open to working with Warner Bros. down the road.

“We’re fans of DC, and if we get the chance in the future to do something inthat universe, we’re never gonna say no,” El Arbi said at last month’s Red SeaFilm Festival. “I mean, of course, our only condition is that the movie needsto come out.”

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Javier Aguirre también podría decir que lo que se jugó en Pasarón no esfútbol, ​​pero no lo ha dicho. Su equipo, el Mallorca, sudó la gota gorda(0-2) ante un Pontevedra del que decían, a mediados de los años sesenta, quehabía que Roerlo. Como a un hueso, vamos. Lo fue el equipo gallego en unrecinto histórico de la Liga, que hace años abandonó los fastos y los oropelesde la máxima categoría, que en sus tiempos no eran tantos. De hecho, cualquierpartido de Primera se parecía más a lo de la noche copera pontevedresa que alo que sucede en las moquetas verdes de la élite.

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Gonzalo Cretazz, Cristian Fernández (S. López, min. 64), Campins (Arregi, min.64), Iñaki, David Fernández, Zourdine Thior (Jorge Martínez-Losa, min. 76),Markel Lozano, Carlos Doncel (Daniel, min. 87), Jaime (Boniquet, min. 63) yMenudo

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Remiro, Gorosabel (Elustondo, min. 87), Le Normand, Aihen Muñoz (Diego Rico,min. 64), Jon Pacheco , Ander Guevara, Brais, Illarramendi (Pablo Marín, min.81), Merino (Martín Zubimendi, min. 64), Sörloth (Oyarzabal, min. 81) y RobertNavarro

Goles 0-1 min 32: Robert Navarro.

Arbitro Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes

Tarjetas amarillas Iñaki (min. 46), Aihen Muñoz (min. 52), Carlos Doncel (min.72) y Sörloth (min. 74)

Tuvo que esperar el Mallorca a la prórroga, cuando las piernas de los localespesaban más que su voluntad y las ideas no fluían tanto como en los noventaminutos. Fueron dos zarpazos solidarios entre los delanteros mallorquines. Elprimero, en un error defensivo del Pontevedra. Kang In le puso la pelota aMuriqi, que se plantó ante el guardameta Cortés, pero en vez de disparar cedióen horizontal para que Abdón Prats empujara la pelota. Cinco minutos más tardesucedió lo mismo pero al revés; Abdón, con todo a su favor, después de uncontragolpe tras un córner en contra, prefirió dejársela en ventaja al jugadorkosovar. La generosidad se sustanció en los dos goles que resolveron laeliminatoria.

El Pontevedra, que había exigido el esfuerzo supremo del Mallorca para imponerla diferencia entre categorías, se diluyó en el tiempo extra. Ni siquierasirvió la veteranía de Charles, que como ha sucedido esta misma semana conLucas Pérez con el Dépor, dejó la máxima categoría, cuando jugaba en el Eibar,para regresar a Pasarón. Tuvo el brasileño la mejor ocasión local con undisparo que Greif detuvo junto al poste.

En otro enfrentamiento, la Real Sociedad jugó su partido de Copa como si fuerauno de Liga. Aunque el rival, la UD Logroñés, está dos categorías por debajo,se lo tomó con la misma seriedad que el último día del año pasado ante Osasunapara acabar ganando por la mínima (0-1). Ayudaba el escenario, porque LasGaunas puede pasar perfectamente por un recinto de Primera División, casilleno y con un césped bastante decente para lo que se estila en la categoríade bronce. Además ya lo había advertido Imanol: la hierba no era excusa.

Y no lo fue, porque frente a un Logroñés entusiasta, formó una Real muyprofesional, que sabía lo que tenía que hacer y lo que no. camino paraperforar la portería de Gonzalo. No se desesperó con las llegadas fallidas nicon algún remate torcido. Con el control total, supo esperar su momento, quellegó a la media hora, cuando Illarramendi, casi siempre una buena noticiapara la Real, lanzó un pase vertical que Brais dejó pasar entre las piernascuando vio la carrera de Robert Navarro, que cruzó ante la salida delguardameta del Logroñés.

Con el marcador a favor, la intensidad realista no decayó durante la primeraparte, pero no llegó el segundo gol, lo que condicionó en cierta forma eldesenlace de la eliminatoria. Salió en la segunda, el equipo donostiarra, conganas de finiquitar el asunto cuanto antes, y se trató de acercar con peligroal área del Logroñés, pero se encontró con la actuación de Gonzalo, que en elminuto 49 voló hasta el poste para rechazar el balón peinado por Merinodespués de uno de esos envíos envenenados de Brais que tanto desconciertan alas defensas rivales. The nuevo Merino se encontró con Gonzalo en un remate.

After the Story of the Netherlands, our southern neighbors can now watch asimilar production: the Story of Flanders. But where the Dutch series mainlyreceived positive reactions, the Flemish series leads to the necessarycriticism from left-wing opposition parties.

The first episode, broadcast on January 1, has so far received praise. On theVRT, more than 1 million viewers saw Tom Waes walking with an Antwerp accentamong the Neanderthals who populated the area that is now called Flanders tensof thousands of years ago. Via the Romans, the Middle Ages, the Eighty Years’War, the emergence of the Belgian state, the industrial revolution and theworld wars, Waes brings the viewer to the present. The program is based on aformat previously used in Denmark and the Netherlands.

Even before the first episode there was trouble in Belgium. Especially aboutthe more than two million euros subsidy that the producer received for it fromall kinds of subsidy pots, with the support of the Flemish government. Thisangered the left-wing opposition parties Vooruit and Groen. Party leaderHannelore Goeman van Vooruit accuses the Flemish government, led by a primeminister of the Flemish-Nationalist N-VA, in Het Nieuwsblad that there ismoney for “nationalist propaganda”, but not for school meals.

It is not surprising that the government is accused of going on a nationalisttour with the series. The Flemish minister-president Jambon leaves no doubtthat the series fits in with the objective that the Flemish government has setitself, namely to let the Flemish people experience their identity ‘withoutcomplexity’.

Flemish nationalism is historically sensitive in Belgium: it is perceived bymany as anti-Belgian. Proponents and opponents therefore roll over each otheron social media, with sometimes vicious jesting about ‘the sorrow of Flanders'(a reference to Hugo Claus’s novel Het Verdriet van België).

All the politicization makes it a task to look at the series neutrally and tojudge the series on its merits, argues historian Marnix Beyen on the site ofopinion magazine Knack. Even if the makers were guaranteed that they couldmake the program in complete freedom.

The way the story is told in the first episode does inspire Beyen withconfidence. “It came as a relief that experts were given ample opportunity tospeak from the start. The difficult processes of archaeological truth-findingand the associated uncertainties also received a lot of attention.”

Not for govt government

The makers, aware of all the sensitivities, seem to try to navigate betweenthe contradictions in the series and not to let themselves be pushed into thefray of the Flemish government. For example, they do not hesitate to move toWallonia if things have happened there that are important for the historicalstory. It is also repeatedly emphasized how migration already played a crucialrole in prehistoric times.

Raf Uten, co-CEO and creative director of De Mensen, the production housebehind the series, started the Story of Flanders three years ago. He couldhave predicted then that this kind of criticism was coming. “While we reallyhad complete freedom. The subsidy providers have never seen just one line ofthe script.”

It does bother him a bit that it is ignored that the series has been worked onwith love and passion for years. “The people who have worked on it for so longare now being put in the corner of Flemish nationalism by some media. Thatstings a bit. We are the same people who made “De Grootste Belg” (as with you”De Grootste Belg” at the time) Greatest Dutchman”). Nobody called us Belgiannationalists at the time. That’s how it works here. “

Uten hopes that the riot will subside and that the reactions will be differentwhen the entire series has been broadcast. “That it really is about thecontent. But the sentiments surrounding Flemish nationalism will notdisappear. In recent years, they have been much worse in the discussion aboutwhat should be included in the Canon of Flanders.”

Meanwhile, there are also Flemish people who do see the humor in the wholeriot. Someone on Twitter is already happy that the Flemish lion did not passby in the first episode.

Twenty minutes of mindfulness, twenty sit-ups against the tummy, a cup ofyogurt with nuts for breakfast and then a swim in natural water. At the age of75, Iggy Pop knows better than anyone what it takes to stay in shape. On stagehe still rocks practically as hard as fifty years ago, although stage divingis no longer an option for him. “The chances are that I will be damaged byit,” said the older and wiser singer on the occasion of his penultimate,relatively quiet album Free (2019).

That rest was relative, as Iggy Pop now appears on his new album _Every Loser_again almost as fanatically as in the early years (1967-’73) with his proto-punk band The Stooges. The rebellious, ‘fuck!’ shouting, fearless rocker isback in 2023 in songs like ‘Frenzy’ and ‘Neo Punk’. In ‘Modern Day Rip Off’,next to the hectic guitars and the pounding rhythm, you can hear such atypical Stooges piano: one chord repeated endlessly to give the music anirresistible drive. “I’m gonna blow up a church”, the singer fulminates in’All the Way Down’. On his upcoming tour, it will fit effortlessly between ‘IWanna Be Your Dog’ and ‘Lust For Life’, the songs with which Iggy Pop made aname for himself as the godfather of punk.

Wildeman from Detroit

The musician known as James Newell Osterberg Jr. was born in Muskegon,Michigan, initially saw a future as a drummer. The Stooges took him frombehind the drums and pushed him forward as the singer who soon developed intothe biggest wild man in the booming Ann Arbor and Detroit rock scene of thelate 1960s. Iggy smeared herself with peanut butter, rolled through shards ofglass and confronted the audience. Guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer (andbrother) Scott Asheton and bassist Dave Alexander played their primitive rock& roll with true contempt for death. The two albums The Stooges released onthe Elektra label in 1969 and 1970 are the blueprint for everything that cameto be called punk after that.

Read also: Iggy Pop and David Bowie: blood brothers in rock and roll

David Bowie saved the quickly burnt-out Iggy Pop from the ruins of TheStooges, which was about to collapse from drugs and mayhem. Bowie produced thealbum rawpower which resulted in songs with eternal value with ‘Search andDestroy’ and ‘Gimme Danger’. Later, Bowie would again bring his friend Iggyout of anonymity with the ‘Berlin’ albums The Idiot and Lust For Life(both 1977). In the rich solo career that followed, Iggy Pop was often joinedby admirers who produced albums with and for him: Blondie’s Chris Stein on_Zombie Birdhouse_ Bill Laswell op Instinct Don Was up Brick By Brick andJosh Homme on Post Pop Depression (2016) which was followed by an impressivetour with members of Homme’s band Queens Of The Stone Age.

It is always special to see Iggy Pop raging across the stage like a tornado> from the first seconds

Meanwhile, the blood was crawling where it couldn’t go and The Stooges werere-established in 2003, with bassist Mike Watt (Minutemen, Firehose)succeeding Dave Alexander, who died in 1975. While this later incarnation ofThe Stooges never officially disbanded, the deaths of Ron Asheton in 2009 andScott Asheton in 2014 ended the influential group’s classic line-up. Many rockgroups with punk antecedents are indebted to their pioneering work, from SexPistols to Viagra Boys and from Red Hot Chili Peppers to Måneskin.

Read also: **Iggy Pop on the hands of the public at Lowlands ‘ birthday **

With his bare chest, flowing hair and ostentatious display of muscle, Iggy Popremained the epitome of rock music machismo. On the calendar of the tire brandPirelli, photographed by fellow musician Bryan Adams, he appeared half-nakedagain in 2022, covered with a layer of silver paint. At festivals it is alwaysa special sensation to see Iggy Pop raging across the stage like a tornadofrom the first seconds of his show. His macho appearance has become a bitcrazy nowadays: young women who see the half-undressed seventies on stage forthe first time can be caught in a spontaneous laughing fit, I know fromexperience.

Stuck rock clichés

Iggy Pop has tried more than once to get out of the rock clichés entrenched.In 1990 he threw himself with duet partner Debbie Harry on the musical tune’Well, Did You Evah’ by Cole Porter. In 2009 he allowed himself for the jazz-oriented and partly sung in French album Preliminaries inspired by MichelHouellebecq’s novel La Possibility d ‘une île. On the predominantlyfrancophone Apres (2012) Iggy Pop ventured into great chansons such as ‘LaJavanaise’ (Serge Gainsbourg) and ‘La Via en Rose’ (Édith Piaf). Remarkablyenough, the album was only a success in Germany.

Although he discovered his qualities as a crooner later in life, Iggy Pop wasable to resist the temptation to make an entire album of songs from The GreatAmerican Songbook. He did interpret Free the poem ‘Do Not Go Gently IntoThat Good Night’ by Dylan Thomas. Listeners of the BBC6 radio program knowthat he has a pleasant speaking voice Iggy Confidential. Since 2013, Pop hasbeen showing a selection of his favorite music every week, from James Brown toFela Kuti and from Ella Fitzgerald to the young Japanese/American girl bandThe Linda Lindas.

The artistic and commercial success of his collaboration with Josh Homme andQueens Of The Stone Age must have made Iggy Pop realize that the public stillprefers to see him rock at the age of 75. In the music sheet Mojo he said:“A special part of my creative brain ignites at the opportunity to makeconfrontational rock music.”