Vandersteen is best known for "Suske en Wiske" (published in English as "Spike and Suzy", "Luke and Lucy", "Willy and Wanda" or "Bob and Bobette"). In 2008 it sold 3.5 million books. His other major series are "De Rode Ridder" with over 200 albums and "Bessy" with almost 1,000 albums published in Germany.
According to UNESCO's Index Translationum, Vandersteen is the second most often translated Dutch language author, after Anne Frank.
Dardenne brothers
Brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne (born 21 April 1951 in Liège, Belgium) and Luc Dardenne (born 10 March 1954 in Liège, Belgium) are a Belgian movie making duo. They write, produce and direct their movies together.
The Dardennes began making narrative and documentary movies in the late 1970s. They first came to international attention in the mid-1990s with "La Promesse" ("The Promise"). They won their first major international movie prize when "Rosetta" won the Palme d'Or at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. All their movies since have played at the Cannes main competition and won one of the major prizes. They have won more awards than any other movie makers in the history of the Cannes Film Festival.
In 2005, they won the Palme d'Or a second time for their movie "L’Enfant" ("The Child"). This put them in an elite group of only 7 with the likes of Francis Ford Coppola.
Jean-Pierre is the jury president for the Cinéfoundation and Short Films sections of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
Sarah Hyland
Sarah Jane Hyland (born November 24 1990 in New York City) is an American television actress. She appears on the ABC sitcom "Modern Family".
Hyland is the daughter of actors Melissa Canardo and Edward James Hyland. She is also the sister of actor Ian Hyland.
Hyland has been acting since she was five years old. Her first role was as Howard Stern's daughter in "Private Parts".
Ghent Altarpiece
The Ghent Altarpiece or Adoration of the Mystic Lamb ( or "The Lamb of God"; completed 1432) is a very large and complex Early Flemish polyptych panel painting. It is one of Belgium's masterpieces and one of the world's treasures.
It was once in the "Joost Vijdt" chapel at Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium. Later it was moved to the chapel of the cathedral. It was commissioned by the rich merchant and financier Joost Vijdt for his and his wife's private chapel. It was begun by Hubert van Eyck, who died in 1426 while work was underway. It was completed by his younger brother Jan van Eyck.
The altarpiece has a total of 24 framed panels. They make up two views, open and closed. The upper row of the opened view shows Christ the King between the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. The insides of the wings show angels singing and making music. On the outside is Adam and Eve. The lower row of the central panel shows the adoration of the Lamb of God. Several groups are in attendance and streaming in to worship, overseen by the dove who is the Holy Spirit. On weekdays the wings were closed. This showed the Annunciation of Mary and donor portraits of Joost Vijdt and his wife Lysbette Borluut.
There used to be writing on the frame saying that Hubert van Eyck "greater than anyone" started the altarpiece, but that Jan van Eyck - calling himself "second best in the art" - finished it in 1432. The original, very ornate carved outer frame and surround was destroyed during the Reformation. There has been speculation that it may have had clockwork mechanisms for moving the shutters and even playing music.
The original lower left panel known as The Just Judges was stolen in 1934. The original panel has never been found. It was replaced by a copy made in 1945 by Jef Vanderveken. The stolen panel plays a big part in Albert Camus' novel "La chute". In 2010 Dutch journalist Karl Hammer published "The secret of the sacred panel". He describes the involvement of various religious groups, the Vatican and British intelligence services in their attempt to get back the lost panel.
When opened, the altarpiece measures 11 by 15 feet (3.5 by 4.6 metres).
Horta Museum
The Horta Museum is a museum dedicated to the life and work of the Belgian Art Nouveau architect Victor Horta and his time. The museum is in Horta's former house in the Brussels municipality of Saint-Gilles. There is a permanent display of furniture, utensils and art objects made by Horta and his contemporaries. There are also documents related to his life and time. The museum organises temporary exhibitions on topics related to Horta and his art. The building is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Saint-Gilles, Belgium
Saint-Gilles (in French) or Sint-Gillis (in Dutch) is one of the nineteen municipalities in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.
In 1830, Brussels became the capital of newly founded Belgium. As a result, the rural village of Saint-Gilles went through a big growth. The population went from 2,500 around 1800 to more than 33,000 in 1880 to a peak of 60,000 in 1910.
The pattern of the streets was completely remodeled in the 1860s by architect and urbanist Victor Besme. These were the years when the Louise Avenue, the Brussels-South railway station, and the new Saint Giles church were built. They were soon followed by the new jail and city hall. Today, Saint-Gilles is one of the densest municipalities of the Brussels agglomeration.
The local council usually has a socialist majority. The mayor as of 2012 is Charles Picqué. He is also Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region.
Saint-Gilles hosts:
Saint Gilles has a football club called Royal Union Saint Gilloise. They were successful until the 1930s.
Moules-frites
Moules-frites is a popular dish with mussels and French fries. It is mostly eaten in Belgium, and northern France.
"Moules" means mussels and "frites" means fries in French.
Praline
Praline is a confection made from nuts and sugar syrup. They may be in whole pieces or a ground powder. The powder is called "pralin". Belgian pralines are different. They have a hard chocolate shell with a softer, sometimes liquid, filling. French pralines are a combination of almonds and caramelized sugar. American pralines have milk or cream. They are therefore softer and creamier, like fudge.
Côte d'Or (brand)
Côte d'Or is a producer of Belgian chocolate, owned by Kraft Foods.
Côte d'Or was founded in 1883 by Charles Neuhaus. He was a chocolate manufacturer who used the name Côte d'Or which was French for Gold Coast. This is the old name of Ghana where most of the cacao beans used in chocolate manufacturing come from.
Côte d'Or was purchased by Jacobs Suchard in 1987. Jacobs Suchard in turn was purchased by Kraft General Foods in 1990.
Belgians eat 600 million Côte d'Or products a year. Every day, the Côte d'Or factory in Halle makes 1.3 million mignonnettes (small chocolate bars), and 2 million Chokotoffs (chocolate bonbons).
Currently Côte d’Or is sold in more than 20 countries, across 5 continents.
Guylian
Guylian () is a Belgian chocolate manufacturer founded by Guy Foubert in 1960. The company takes its name from the combination of Foubert's first name (Guy) with that of his wife, Liliane. Guylian is perhaps most famous for their chocolate Sea Shells praline with different fillings. Guylian has been the major sponsor of Project Seahorse since 1999.
In 2008 Lotte Confectionery from South Korea bought the company for $164 mln.
A seahorse is used as the company's icon. It is worldwide protected by copyright. Its tail curls the other way around than real seahorses.
Guylian sells pralines in gift boxes, individually wrapped chocolates, chocolate bars, chocolate truffles and napolitains. Guylian is best known for its chocolate Sea Shells. Besides the original Guylian hazelnut praline, created by Guy Foubert in the 1960s, there are now other flavours available.