Koninginne-avond

Terwijl het Nederlands popgebral van het museumplein onze muren binnendringt genieten we gedried een heus koningsmaaltje.
Dit is hoe Debra het menu beschrijft:

A QUEEN'S DAY MENU FOR 3 LADIES:
• blushing sentries of cod au style gravad guard a seaweed nest in which little edamame beans catch up on a month's worth of avontures du têtes. Adventures that have led to all sorts of discoveries
• in a puddle of melted butter pale asparagus, new potatoes and chopped white and yolk of egg group themselves traditionally. Their smug entrenous irreverently invaded by naughty baby crayfish
• recalling the discussions earlier this evening brings colour to the cheeks of the lychee syrup granité served with lychees and blood orange sorbet

koninginnedag

koninginnedag. Ik proef het woord, over een tijdje verdwijnt het in de lade van "woorden van vroeger", want dan heet het koningendag. Lang zo leuk niet want je hoeft nooit over de spelling na te denken, het woord is wat gladder, sneller en vluchtiger. Misschien ook het evenement.
De lichte depressie die altijd volgt op het zien van zoveel onnodige rotzooi die collectief verzameld wordt, weegt kennelijk niet op tegen het plezier want elk jaar opnieuw trek ik er vol verwachting op uit, tegenwoordig met een flinke boodschappenwagen op wieletjes, in de hoop op die ene aankoop waar je nog een heel jaar van kunt zeggen of denken "van koninginnedag, 50 cent!"

Eten met Bert

Werk/eet afspraak met Bert bleek geen straf. Een inspirerende avond. Bert meent dat Nederland "voorbij" is, we kwebbelden over het idee van culturele historiche cycly (Borges schreef in deze context een essay: Literature in Germany in the time of Bach"), de toekomstige verplaatsing van wereldcentra. We vroegen ons af waar de tweede generatie was, de generatie na ons in het licht van vernieuwing, interventies en inventies in de moderne maatschappij.

Even Louis looses it

Declining economy hits everybody. High brow consumer-icon / bag-jeweller Louis Vuittton has a crumbling poster in their shop window, and the sadness of it is illustrated by the designer teardrops that are featuring the next window.
When they were building this shop we noticed that the glass of these windows is about 8 cm thick and heavily "armed" using the latest security technology. All this to keep bag snatchers away.

two picts of LV shop window

Anti-pigeon day

We all are worried about Sars in relation to the epedemic of bird pest so Janneke organised our infected balcony to be cleaned by two huge men in organge suits wearing mouth protection. In order to make the result last Janneke, with the help of Aya, then spend half a day designing and organising a full proof anti-pigeon-shit-system. I can assure you this is not as easy as it looks or sounds. Enjoy the pictures ...

In Ganges

Stayed saturdaynight in Marseille (sea, sunshine and oisters = heaven). Now back in Ganges the wall has been build and the portaille will be installed by the end of this week, so all is moving fast. Having said that, we did have to suffer another endless meeting about the colour of the wall on the outside.

On my way to Ganges

Follow me to Ganges

(Dutch) Glamourland quiz voor Nederlanders

Wie is deze man die JT en ik gisteren tegenover ons zagen in CafeCox in Amsterdam?

En nu ik toch bezig ben met achterklap: een aantal weken geleden zaten we in een resto met naast ons Katja Schuurman en ik heb de volgende info voor de fans ... :

ze rookt ketting, kiest onder luid gekir een gerecht dat met veel omhaal aan haar tafel wordt toebereid, kondigt aan -niet bepaald op fluistertoon- hoe vervelend het soms is om steeds herkend te worden, heeft vinnige hakken waarmee ze meermaals naar toilet paradeert (heupwiegend, borsten ferm vooruit, holle rug), en gaat weekeinde naar kasteel in frankrijk om lekker te eten en te luieren. Ook wat klachten om een vriend/vriendin met wie ze vier jaar lang dagelijks contact had en nu plotseling helemaal geen contact meer, "maar dat moet kunnen, toch?, voegt ze er wat onzeker aan toe. Haar metgezel van het type "live fast, die young" laat haar publieke strelingen wat tam over zich heenkomen. Wel leuk om John te vertellen dat dat ons antwoord op M. Monroe is...

Unreal Photo of Rumsfelds Mobile office

A plane redesigned as warlords headquarters (photo in last saturday's National Newspaper NRC Handelsblad

Blog-delay because of Blog research

Been steadily researching Movable Type as a blogging tool. It looks like real good and clear software but must admit I to having some trouble getting it work for me, i.e. resembling my current layout. Nevertheless I won't give up just yet, especially not since Paul Jongsma helps me. Thx Paul!
movabletype.org

Below shocking news I found at the Belgium Doctors in Iraq-site. Loosly translated it says that American soldiers are executing Iraqi soldiers after they surrendered, apparently a video exists.

“Een ‘embedded’ Amerikaanse journalist die dacht dat ik een collega was, vertelde me een onrustwekkend feit”, meldt Geert nog. “Amerikaanse soldaten hebben twee Irakezen gefusilleerd die zich hadden overgegeven! Hij heeft hiervan beelden gezien, maar weet best dat ze nooit op CNN zullen komen. Op de beelden zie je twee Irakese soldaten met hun handen boven hun hoofd. Ze gaan op de grond liggen, GI’s stappen op hen af en schieten hen koelbloedig dood!” 
Belgium Doctors in Iraq

Sis pregnant

Valentine (6) and Connor (3)

Having missed the lads yesterday (they were already asleep) I "lego-ed" them this afternoon. None of the usual arguments concerning what block goes where, only adult discussions about the necessary technicalities; amazing. Mom Jane came back from shopping too soon really. Reason turned out to be a welcome guest (announced his appearance by mobile) was joining us for a late lunch. It's spring after all ...

Dinner at Jane's

After swift coordination containing about 32 emails and a couple of phonecalls, dinner at Janes' was a fact. Todd and Jane managed a great couscous and intoxicating rubarb-crumble, JT two bottles of wine, I managed gourgette-soup, and Debra managed to be two hours late (because of "do" about yes or no their scheduled China-schooltrip will be canceled in regard of SARS; some of the foreign students can't get insurance for traveling to Asia now).
Radiant evening with light-footed subjects such as life, death and love.

The life/death subject was favorite since it embedded subsubjects like Iraq and SARS. Debra leaves for Canada next monday (should she?) and after that to China (will she?). Follow the virus ...

The latest News about SARS

Todd revealed a fair chunk of knowledge about the American "predator"; an unmanned fighterplane initially steered by remote control, but apparently now so intelligent that it can find its own targets while the warlords are having supper... chilling. What does this have to do with "war" or "humankind". I vaguely remembered Huizinga being quoted in the Guy Debord biography. I looked it up:

"Homo Ludens", by Johan Huizinga, 1938 (from "the game of war", A. Hussey)
Modern war, says Huizinga, has become seperate from the ancient notion of combat as a game as well as struggle and is therefor less human. In modern warfare, he writes, there are no rules. There is therefore no real sence in which modern warfare can be made equivalent to the delicate and complex codes which governed battles and wars in the pre-modern world.

("less human" in a modern war in 1938! Following this line of thinking one could call the current war a truely inhumane one in every respect. Detachment should be the most dreaded aspect of anything in life)

All this was followed by a serious round discussing the meaning of love. The difference between the sexes popped up. The book: Men are from Mars, women are from Venus (John Gray), surfaced and for a while triggered a lively conversation. But when the line "Marshian rubber band", was mentioned we all lost it. Nevermind. Although I don't like the book, seems I should recommend it to all of you who are sure it's not your fault that there's occassional trouble in paradise:-)

the official John Gray MarsVenus website (keep a sickbag handy)
John Gray is expanding into – no doubt profitable – War-issues ...

The fact I'm not turned on by the subject of gender-differences doesn't mean I don't like to ponder love, and especially what it is made of: physical attraction/necessity to breed, sure. But then there's the fuzzy building-blocks like trust, respect, intimacy, understanding of the other that goes hand in hand with a deeply rooted denial of the harsh truth of everlasting loneliness ... and, and ... Oh God ... !
Anyway, if it weren't for the fun (no really!), the evening could've been a Bergman-play. (btw: I deeply resent the bloodless Liv Ulman)