June 13, 2007
A passer-by in the Arent van ‘s Gravensandestraat in Rotterdam had to first rub his eyes before he could believe what he was seeing swinging in a tree: a small ape was hiding in one of the branches.
The police do not know where the ape comes from or what type it is (hey, it’s not a gorilla!). They’ve had to dispatch an ‘ape specialist’.
Although it’s cute, it feels like someone let him out of his cage by mistake.
(Link and Photo: gelderlander)
June 12, 2007
According to a poll by Maurice de Hond for Pepsi Max, some 80% of Dutch people 40 or younger say they feel stuck in a rut. Stuck in a queue on the motorway, waiting, being sick and visiting in-laws are considered dull moments by the Dutch. Men get bored faster than women especially if there is nothing on telly. Sunday and Monday are the worst days of the week. One out of every four respondants is considering emigration. Women think about parachuting and bungee jumping, while men consider cheating on their partners (translation: sex is an issue). Reasons for being stuck in a rut? Lack of money (33%), no guts to change the situation (24%) and no time (11%).
Let the comments pour in, it was just a poll.
Tags: poll
June 11, 2007
In a riff on the book ‘French Women Don’t Get Fat’, a book that explains how French women manage to avoid the treadmill of the gym by skipping along merrily from marché to marché carrying delightful baskets full of good wholesome food, (Dutch! female!) psychologist Ellen de Bruin has published a book called ‘Dutch Women Don’t Get Depressed’. The review in the International Herald Tribune seems to be toggling between the ideas that on the one hand the book is a parody, on the other, a serious work.
So why don’t Dutch women get depressed? The review hints at many a contorted explanation, dragging in several stereotypical views of Dutch society. Gay marriage gets a look in (suggesting the Dutch desire for family building) as does the Amsterdam Red Light District (suggesting sexual freedom). And an important element seems to be that Dutch women don’t feel the stress of the need to seduce, and instead dress in lumpy, gender-blurring clothes that are ideal for biking along windy canals.
Meanwhile English (female!) columnist Sarah Sands first discards the suggestion that an English version should be called ‘Why English Women Don’t Get Laid’, then gets bitter:
This is also a country that embraces euthanasia. All those elderly parents in old people’s homes must feel nervous about family visits. And if we have discovered the correct social conditions for human happiness, they are fragile. The cultural clash between Islam and the secular West has been fought ferociously on Dutch soil.
The main problem with this book is that it does not have the obvious appeal of French Women… Many of us would like to be French, at least on the outside. With respect, how many of us wish to be Dutch?
You tell ’em, fatty! ‘Ere, have some Belgian chocolate.
Tags: English, French, statistics, traits, women
Three unknown works by Dutch painter Piet Mondriaan were recently discovered at an appraisal in France. The oil paintings are not listed in the 1998 works catalogue.
The three paintings are ‘Hooimijt achter een rij bomen’ (‘Hay stack behind a row of trees’, seen here), ‘Irissen tegen een rode achtergrond’ (‘Irisses against a red background’) and ‘Boerenhoeve door bomen omringd’ (‘Farm house surrounded by trees’). The discovery was made by Amsterdam art dealer Dolf van Omme, who obtained the paintings through the heritage of a collector.
The authenticity of the works was confirmed by specialists. They are not signed, but then Mondriaan did not sign his paintings very often. Van Omme is selling one of the paintings for EUR 100,000, while the other two will be given back to the owner.
(Link: RTL, Photo: Dolf van Omme)
Tags: paintings, Piet Mondriaan
June 8, 2007
Camp Silver is a new campsite right in the middle of the Dutch island of Texel. It combines the outdoors with the service of a luxury hotel. Picture eight silver Airstream caravans, brought over from the United States and specially designed for Camp Silver by Christopher Deam of San Francisco together with Airstream. The inside features designs and materials by designers such as Charles & Ray Eames and Frette. The big dome tent in the middle of the campsite acts as a lounge and breakfast place. Speaking of breakfast, they strive to make it with local and island biological products. Retro futuristic cool!
(Link: persberichten.nl)
June 7, 2007
Women who are afraid of driving through tunnels (!?) can practice doing so on Saturday, 9 June in the 6,6 km long Westerscheldetunnel, the longest car tunnel in the Netherlands. The management is holding a women’s day so that they can get used to driving under water. Some 400 women have already signed up. The tunnel people swear it’s a female problem.
The women will drive through the tunnel in a bus (?) and learn about safety in case they ever breakdown. And to make sure it’s a women’s day, massages and manicures will be given as well.
(Link: Bisnis)
June 6, 2007
Dutchman Hans van den Hoek, better know as Daisy Dynamite, died yesterday at the age of 78 in Amsterdam. The transvestite and artist had a hit in 1973 with ‘Botch a me’. Van den Hoek started working in Paris in 1948 as a dancer. He first started out doing something akin to black face, but then went white again. Besides performing in cabarets and revues in several countries, Van den Hoek appeared in a few TV series and films, including Casanova by Frederico Fellini, together with Donald Sutherland.
(Link: A5)
Tags: Daisy Dynamite, dance
June 5, 2007
Mobile scooters will be racing at the Zandvoort racetrack in Zandvoort aan Zee to celebrate Mobility Day (‘Mobiliteitsdag’). This day is dedicated to anyone who can get around quickly and properly in a wheelchair, mobile scooter or walker. There will be an obstacle course, wheelchair races, mobile scooter races and a celebrity race. You can also have your wheelchair or mobile scooter pimped.
June 4, 2007
Former nurse Lineke van de Scheur (photo) uses the web to organize care for the elderly. Her company U Staat Centraal (Dutch link, “You’re Important”) provides web-based rosters for care givers. A recent change in Dutch law put the responsibility for finding care firmly in the infirm hands of those in need of care; the “care consumers” get a personal “budget” with which they themselves have to “shop around” for nurses and housekeepers and so on. Clients of Van de Scheur’s company get their own Sharecare homepage which has a roster to which freelance care professionals can subscribe, but also family members who would like to help out. U Staat Centraal helps set up and manage these care rosters, and helps people find the right professionals.
Tags: business models, care, senior citizens
June 3, 2007
I used to work at a factory that made these things, albeit not in Dutch.
The sign should read Groenburgwal, and so has an ‘r’ too many. Hope it was free.
This is akin to finding a four-leaf clover (and ‘groen’ means green).
‘Still waiting’ refers to the fact that the sign has now been removed and we’re all waiting for the corrected version (see link).
(Link: A5, Photo: Herenlunch)
Tags: signs, streets, typography
