September 11, 2007

First ‘non-American’ to win science award

Filed under: Dutch first,Science by Orangemaster @ 10:05 am

Kessels

Erwin Kessels from Tilburg, Brabant, researcher at the Technische Universiteit in Eindhoven (TU/e) is the first non-American to win the American Peter Mark Award of the AVS Science & Technology Society. The 34-year-old Kessels currently holds a tenured Assistant Professorship in the Department of Applied Physics and researches solar cells.

The Peter Mark Memorial Award was established in 1979 in memory of Dr. Peter Mark who served as Editor of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology from 1975 to 1979. The award is presented to a young scientist or engineer (35 years of age or under) for outstanding theoretical or experimental work, at least some of which must have been published in JVST. The award consists of a cash award, a certificate, and an honorary lectureship at a regular session of the International Symposium.

The award amounts to US$ 6,500 (EUR 4,712). Kessels will speak at the international AVS symposium, which will be held from 15 to 19 October in Seattle.

(Link: omproep brabant)

Tags: , ,

September 10, 2007

First-ever grape harvest in Amstelveen

Filed under: Dutch first,Food & Drink by Orangemaster @ 9:07 am
amsteltuin1.jpg

There is only one vineyard in Amstelveen, the town next to Amsterdam and that is De Amsteltuin. “Hopefully next year,” says owner Jan Schake, “the first real Amsteltuin wine will be served. We’re really looking forward to it”. The vineyard offers tons of wine-related activities and a chance to learn about grapes and wine in general. This year’s harvest will be experimented with to see what kind of wine can be made from it.

Dutch wine is made in many parts of the country and is not very well known. The only one that comes to mind is Apostelhoeve from Maastricht, available in major wine shops, which is still very expensive and according to a wine-tasting test earlier this year, not special enough.

Let us remember that there are tons of Dutch people making wine in France.

(Photo: De Amsteltuin, link: De Pers)

Tags: , ,

September 9, 2007

No more false identity on the Internet

Filed under: Online,Weird by Orangemaster @ 8:49 pm
Fletch

Justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin has actually said he wants to create a law which would make using the Internet under an assumed name illegal. His goal? To catch pedophiles. “Security starts with prevention”, Hirsch Ballin said on TV. Apparently, more and more nasty grown-ups in chatboxes manage to gain the trust of children to either get them to take their clothes off or get their phone numbers.

Sure, we get the idea that there are predators on the Internet, but, hey there, no more nicknames or privacy? No more avatars? No more confidentiality? How ignorant of the Internet are you? You were still OK when you were working on making sex with animals illegal.

You now remind me of this rich Canadian businessman in the publishing industry who said he’d buy the Internet to counter the competition.

(Link: fok.nl)

Tags: , ,

September 7, 2007

Miniature realism in Madurodam

Filed under: General by Orangemaster @ 11:06 am
huisje1.jpg

This week, the Madurodam, the famous Dutch miniature village in The Hague, got its very first homeless shelter, modelled after a nice one in Groningen. The opening of the miniature version was done by minister for Living and Integration, Ella Vogelaar.

It’s smack in the middle of town, you can’t miss it.

(Link: De Pers)

Tags: , ,

September 6, 2007

Five-star dog hotel to open

Filed under: Animals,Dutch first by Orangemaster @ 10:03 am
rich1.jpg

Gilze-Rijen, Noord-Brabant has a Dutch first in their midst: the first dog resort of Europe. Owners can leave they holiday guilt at the door instead of their family pet, according to Dutch paper De Telegraaf. The dogs get their own room and much space, and can use the pool and the doggy park.

Hotel owner Ad van der Valk (our Dutch Hilton man) took this initiative together with a group of entrepreneurs who experience this guilt with their furry friends. The luxury dog resort represents an investment of about EUR 3,5 million.

(Link: zibb)

Tags: , ,

September 5, 2007

Children getting fatter, just like their parents

Filed under: General,Science by Orangemaster @ 9:58 am

fat kid

By 2015, one child in five will be obese in the Netherlands, according to a study carried out by the Nicis research institute in the country’s major cities. Fewer than 10% of children in primary school manage to average half an hour exercise a day. Among teenagers, it is fewer than 30%.

The institute found a direct relation between weight gain and the opportunity to play games or sports in the children’s neighbourhood. Nicis underlined the duty of city councils to develop opportunities for exercise, by encouraging children to bike to school and improving safety at sports fields so children are not deterred by the risk of being attacked. The institute also stressed that parental attitudes were a determining factor: sporty parents tend to have sporty children while lazy couch-potatoes have children like them.

Risk of being attacked should be ‘risk of being beaten up for being fat or an easy target’.

No one word about bad eating habits, not one! Children take on some 90% of their parents’ habits as well, not just their sports habits.

Here a nice list of who’s fat in the world. There’s a cultural explanation for the top 8 and a serious difference in population size.

Some perspective: The US is No. 9, the Netherlands is No. 106. Don’t worry too much.

(link: int.iol.ca.za, via webwatch.be)

Tags: ,

September 4, 2007

Nice, new, native ringtones

Filed under: General,Music by Orangemaster @ 8:30 am

crazy frogThe Ringtone Society, a platform initiated in the Netherlands by Muzieklab for the artistic development of the ringtone, has been invited by the Grand Canyon Music Festival this month to take part in the festival’s 2007 Native American Composers Apprentice Project (NACAP), for a unique new ringtone initiative in Arizona, USA.

The Ringtone Society, in partnership with New York-based string quartet ETHEL will work with young Native American composers to produce a series of new ringtones. These new mini-compositions will be performed and recorded during the festival.

According to Theo Andriessen, initiator of The Ringtone Society, the public is fed up with terribly produced ringtones that overflow the market. “It is time for an artistic offensive. The ringtone offers a new creative challenge for musicians and composers and a chance to be heard by a new public at several different locations.” The Ringtone Society has already collected more than 500 unique ringtones, poetry tones and videotones worldwide and has been a featured presenter at the popfestival Lowlands in Holland and the Melbourne International Art Festival in Australia.

(Link: earthtimes.org, via webwatch)

Tags: ,

September 3, 2007

Fake bomb was a planted work of art

Filed under: Art,Music,Weird by Orangemaster @ 1:21 pm
bomb

The fake explosive that caused the city centre of Gorinchem, South Holland to be evacuated just before a Rowwen Hèze concert last Saturday was apparently an actual work of art. Thousands of visitors of the Zomerfeesten in Gorinchem and dozens of residents were evacuated from the city centre around midnight once a suspicious package was spotted on the roof of the local museum.

The object that looks like an explosive is part of an exhibition called ‘Leven uit een koffer’ (‘Living out of a suitcase’), which opens on 8 September. According to the museum, artists Marcel Doorduyn and Niek Verschoor wanted to draw attention to the chaos that occurs when a suspicious package is found.

(Link: nieuwnieuws.nl)

Tags: ,

September 2, 2007

Dutch singer’s dream in danger

Filed under: Music by Orangemaster @ 2:42 pm
roelvink

First, Dries Roelvink worked like a madman for decades to finally get his first Top 10 hit, which gave him the opportunity to play at the huge Ahoy stadium in Rotterdam, the symbol of having made it in the Dutch music business. Problem is, ticket sales are not going well. Dries won’t play if the place is half full, which is understandible. He needs to sell 10,000 tickets and so far only 2,200 have been sold. On 15 September, Dries will appear on the Paul de Leeuw show (another successful singer, actor and prominent gay figure) and if need be, he’ll sing in his bathing suit. The Ahoy concert is scheduled for 28 January 2008.

Dries, maybe you should check out this tribute to the Costa Del Sol from Duo Starla, which I saw live last night and had the entire crowd doing their dance moves. It’s original and it’s in Dutch. Watch the video, it’ll cheer you up.

(Link and photo: fok.nl)

Tags: , , ,

August 31, 2007

The Dutch touch, Bollywood style

Filed under: Dutch first,Film by Orangemaster @ 3:17 pm
Narsingh.jpg

For the first time in the history of Indian film-making, Hindustani-Dutch artists will play a role in an Indian film. Narsingh Balwantsingh (shown here), Fareisa Joemmanbaks and Kiran Sukul will be making their Indian film debut in Saiyaan Chitchor (Eternal Love).

The film in which major Bhojpuri artists Manoj Tiwari and Nagma will be starring is scheduled to start shooting in September 2007 in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar (North India) and the mega filmcity complex in Mumbai. It should be released in December 2007. Eternal Love will be in the Bhojpuri language, spoken by both the Hindustani in the Netherlands and in Suriname.

(Link: wereldjournalisten.nl)

Tags: , ,