1 year ago
Song of the day: Weezer’s official US Soccer song - Represent! #USA #USA #USA
1 year ago
USA, USA, Soccer is the game we play. And when you lose and we go through, you will call it Soccer too.
Off to watch our boys face off with Slovenia - I’ll be teaching everyone at the bar this song for sure.
Via Agency Spy:
Soon-to-be-gone Saatchi NY CCO Gerry Graf has World Cup fever and the end result is this pro-U.S. soccer anthem
According to the Saatchi camp, Graf created the video via iMovie while the song was written in two days with the creative “singing” and providing guitar, though you wouldn’t know it as it’s practically submerged under the techno-lite music. The two-minute tune is the brainchild of Graf and interactive CD James Cooper and is a reaction to how the USA is never taken seriously as a World Cup contender. The song also serves as a patriotic tie-in to the guys’ work for Soccer.com and the website Twentytentweets.com. which also involved Saatchi CD Jason Musante.
1 year ago
After the relief that was Saturday’s tied match between the US and UK, today the country prepares for its first match.
I now present the theme song to the madness that is the World Cup in the Netherlands (via A Touch of Dutch). They are pretty into this over here … I’m told people take off work - basically the country shuts down. Yours truly however will still be in the clock.
Hup 9-5, Hup!
1 year ago
Inburgeringscursus (AKA Dutch Civic Integration Course) is now in session.
1 year ago
Tomorrow is Election Day - Clog it to the Polls
Tomorrow the Dutch cast their votes for a new Parliament - the result of the latest government coalition collapse back in February. This is the second time in ten years the Dutch government has resigned due to disagreements over a foreign peacekeeping mission. Like rain on your wedding day …
Been coming across many an interesting review of the months leading up to tomorrow, so I thought I’d share a few.
From Presseurop:
“Two utterly contradictory images of the Netherlands circulate in the international press. One is the idea of a wild, unruly place where policemen smoke marijuana, gay men dance in the streets, and euthanasia can be arranged in an instant, a multicultural society that is so tolerant that even violent Islamic extremists are subsidized by the state,” affirms Ian Buruma in the English version of Der Spiegel. This is in sharp contrast to another image, which the Dutch Orientalist and essayist explains has been created by ”the sudden emergence of populist demagogues, such as Pim Fortuyn and Geert Wilders, who rant and rave about the “Islamization” of Europe,” which has led some commentators to remark that the Netherlands is “a country of reactionaries and racists, leading the rest of Europe in a march towards a new dawn of fascism.”
Although both of these images are exaggerated, ”there is indeed something a little frenzied about the new populism, exemplified by Geert Wilders, just as there was something overexcited about the social changes in the 1960s: sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll as a reaction to centuries of dull Calvinism.” In fact, Buruma argues that ”the reality in Holland is not as bad as the harsh rhetoric of populists might suggest. Geert Wilders is popular, but not nearly as popular as the former social democratic mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen.” An advocate of dialogue with the Muslim community, the Labour leader “personifies, in the eyes of his enemies, the liberal elitism and soft tolerance that people blame for everything, from street crime in immigrant neighbourhoods to violent Islamist extremism.” As a result, it is not certain that his party “will manage to form a majority government, despite his high personal standing.” And even if he does succeed, ”the problems of terrorism, street crime, or economic anxiety, will not disappear. But Holland will have a better chance to restore a degree of sanity, and be a country that is neither wild, nor bigoted, but the calm bourgeois place it should be.”
This post from UK Progressive gives a really great overview on the election as a whole - candidates, history and perhaps the best close ever: “A sea change is headed this way, where is that little boy and his fingers plugging the leaks now when we need him?”
But, if you’d like to start at the beginning, here’s a Dutch Government for Dummies post, courtesy of Clogs and Tulips, a very handy blog for expats in the Netherlands (Great trivia tip: See this helpful post on the difference between Holland and the Netherlands)
Next we have a piece on Dutch voting technology from Radio Netherlands Worldwide. This year’s tool of choice: A red pencil.
And let’s not forget about my day job - the tubes have played a big role as well. Search Engine Watch gives a download on how the Dutchies are saying “Yes We Can Too!” with Twitter and YouTube.
Finally, my Dutch FH public affairs colleagues have been blogging it up, writing about the world’s first 3D broadcast political debate, failed Twitter debates and a little Dutch politics 101 - check it out.
1 year ago
Welcome to Keukenhof - Flower Power to the MAX!
Open only March 24th through May 20th, it’s the world’s largest flower garden with about 7 MILLION flower bulbs planted this year.
To get there you take a train to a little town called Lisse southwest of Amsterdam and then take a bus over to what’s called the “Bulb Region.” The garden was opened in 1949 to showcase flowers grown in Europe - crazy hybrids and whatnot. That’s still the case today - the garden has a few exhibition building where growers compete and show off the most perfect examples of every kind of flower you can think of - and some you’ve never seen before. From huge orchids with spots to tulips that looked like they were made out of paper, there were some really beautiful flowers.
Art and sculptures are scattered throughout and among the flowers as well - it’s a nice place. Each year the garden chooses another country to buddy up with - this year was Russia so they had a giant tulip mosaic of St. Basil’s Cathedral. Cute.
Possibly the most touristy thing I’ve done here, but it was worth it. If only to see a SpongeBob SquarePants Tulip, I say money well spent.
For some history on Tulip Mania (which is very real!) see here.
Just one month ago was Remembrance Day here, on which the Dutch commemorate those who died and those who fought and liberated Holland. Each year there is a ceremony in the city’s largest square at which the Queen and her royal crew lay wreaths, children read poems and for two glorious minutes at 8 PM the country falls silent (even MTV goes silent - huge).
I road my bike up to the square to meet a colleague but was soon stopped by cars clogging up the road and bike lane - they weren’t able to continue but were given a detour by a helpful cop. I got off my bike and started to walk the rest of the way but then saw why the street was closed - a crowd of a couple hundred people were making their way to the square as well, led by horses and one lone drummer. I was later told many of those in the crowd were veterans or their family members. It was pretty moving.
The Queen and her family arrived and the ceremony began - thoughtful music, kids, flowers, and then … the silence. The lack of noise in such a city was really gorgeous - you could hear birds flapping across the way, wind on the flags, the occasional bike bell, it was glorious.
Close to the end of the two minutes and near the front of the Square, a man began to scream: LOUD. I remember thinking “Wow, that kid’s an asshole,” but then the silence was suddenly broken by the sound of hundreds of shoes on the stones of the square - all heading toward us. This wave of bodies and people all flowed onto each other in the span of seconds - I’ve never experienced anything like it. Another video perspective here.
No one knew why we all running or what from - you just knew standing still wasn’t a good idea. My colleague grabbed my arm and we stayed together, fending off elbows and trying not to get run over.
Eventually everyone stopped moving but everyone had the same look on their face - shock, fear and WTF. Injured people were started to come out of the center and the sides of the crowd, heading away or toward help (BBC reported 60 injuries or so) - kids were crying, adults were crying - and all the while no one knew why it happened.
A few minutes afterward, a man announced to the crowd that someone at the front was “unwell” but that the ceremony would go on. During the panic, the Queen and family had been rushed away but returned to complete the event. The Dutch agree that this little white lie was clever so that they could continue, but it always sat funny with me.
In the end, we decided to split early but watched the news later at another colleague’s house and were so shocked by the videos - we had no idea that it had stretched throughout the entire crowd.
So what happened? An Amsterdam fruitloop just got a little too vocal during the moment of silence. After his scream, cops piled on top of him and apparently a bystander’s suitcase/briefcase took flight into the crowd. Flying briefcases don’t go over well in crowds - especially when cops are playing tackle-the-nutcase nearby.
Anyway, the man was taken away, questioned and arrested. There was a press conference that evening that my nice friends translated for me and during which I learned how interesting Dutch news is - in how they describe suspects, reveal information, etc., it’s really different.
I’ve managed to keep crowd panic free in the month since, thankfully, and would be cool to continue the trend. Here’s hoping.
1 year ago
Bike ballet. I love this video. Shot in a city South of Amsterdam, Utrecht, this really is the organized, beautiful chaos that is a cycling city. (via 24 Oranges)
1 year ago
Finally here, much delayed photos from Queen’s Day. From my previous post you should be up-to-speed on its origins, customs, etc., but even with some background though I don’t think it’s possible to prepare yourself for Queen’s Day.
Turns out I never got to join a boat party (which, now seeing what goes on, I’m cool with the fact that I was landlocked for the day) but spent a good part of the day walking along the canals with pals, enjoying open containers, and sampling the many lekker options to be had on the streets - pancakes, fries, fresh juice, coffees & teas, lots of little orange cupcakes and tarts, hot ham sandwiches, lumpia and more.
Sights worth mentioning:
The Children’s Market in the Vondelpark - Kids gather there with their parents every year to sell their wares - old toys, books and games - and also their services like nail painting, hair braiding, etc. There were the standouts, like the 2 blond boys dancing to Michael Jackson music, the kids who charged 5 Euro for Couch Surfing (pushing a love seat on wheels around the park); and also sad ones too like the 3 preteen girls who tried unsuccessfully to harmonize Jason Mraz tunes. And then there were really clever ones, like the kids in the album above, who with their parents, created a flour-erupting volcano. For a Euro or two, you launched a paper airplane over the “ash”-spitting volcano attempting to land on the paper runway beyond it. Hilarious.
Wherever you walked, someone was selling something - from antique stores and clothing shops moving their items outside to families tossing their junk drawers on the sidewalk in front of their house, there was a lot to see.
Pee Boats - Imagine dancing to house music for 10 hours straight with no bathroom. Exactly, my hell too. Enter the Pee Boat - a floating oasis of loos. One slide for the dames with stalls and the other side lined with public urinals for the heren (Google that one). Very convenient, just slide your boat up, jump off, pay the Toilet Madam (a dude in drag, natch) and you’re good to go.
Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera with me for Queen’s Night - the night before - during which I experienced what I can only compare to an Enrique Iglesiasmusic video. At one point in the evening we found ourselves on Amsterdam’s gay street where a large platform was built for a DJ and singer to perform directly over the dancing crowd. It began to rain - very, very hard - but no matter to those dancing, it just went on and on in the rain with lights flashing, music blasting and water, water everywhere on shirtless men.
The evening ended with our dear Rachelle having to lock up her bike for the night and catching a ride on the back of a colleague’s home. Don’t drink and bike, ya’ll.
Queen’s Day: Good times.
2 years ago
That last neighborhood there, that’s where I live, de Pijp. It means Pipe in English.
Now, living in the land of “coffee shops” alone could make that worthy of a 12-year boy’s snicker but when the street you live on is literally Lady of the Night Lane, that’s something else …
So here’s the deal. I live next door to such an establishment. Literally - We share a wall.
When I moved in, a very sweet and concerned Dutch colleague asked me very seriously if I had known about this street before arriving. I said I hadn’t, to which she informed me of my new neighbors. Being a thoughtful hostess, she had assumed (that like any American broad) I was a delicate prude (which I am!) who would be mortified at the thought of lonely local men strolling by my house to get an eye-full. Or more. The truth is, I am only slightly mortified.
It turns out the gals next door are a lovely bunch, they keep to themselves and minus the occasional cat call or afternoon delight, it’s pretty quiet. Plus the neighborhood is really, really wonderful. I couldn’t feel safer. I don’t think I’ll be having coffee or borrowing sugar from Lola and the gang any time soon, but our days are pretty packed, so it’s cool.
One final piece of hilarity - the owner of this apartment must have a great sense of humor because the curtains in the front room, facing the street, next door to the harlot house, are red velvet - the classiest fabric ever. When closed, my house just looks like a continuation of the party next door.
HOLLER.
