Cogs can think.

Update: WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK. Yes, I’m not even saying fcuk anymore. There’s something seriously EVIL going on at GeenStijl.nl. In the post where they announced the ‘takeover’, they also said the ‘normal’ GeenStijl editors where in hiding abroad, and that the ‘Editorial Council’ will take care of posting for the coming 40-45 days. Now, with GeenStijl you never understand what the fcuk is going on, because they always speak in riddles. But…

The posts made now by that ‘editorial council’ are so completely mindless, so stupid, so content and humourless, it just ain’t funny anymore. The new posts are mere newsitems copied from tabloid boulevardpress, stuff about famous Dutch people and what they’re doing. I seriously cannot believe the original editorial staff wanted this.

Which leads me to think this whole takeover might just be an elaborate hoax by the original staff. I’m confused! And pissed off! I want GeenStijl back goddamnit!

—

Ok, this is the end, good bye GeenStijl, it’s over, it’ll only go downhill from here.

Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf has taken a stake of 40% in independant ’shocklog’ GeenStijl.nl. Yes, my favourite website, placed even above my own ‘employer’ OSNews.com, has been bought by a right-wing, extremely commercial tabloid boulevard-press newspaper.

I like GeenStijl so very, very much because they were left nor right: they pissed on both sides, confronted both sides with their hypocrisy, and as such gained the proud title: shocklog. They were not afraid to break taboos, not afraid to say things no one else in the country dared to say. They got national recognition because of this– and even internationally they gained a name after being on Fox News (you know, Bush’s lapdog), because GeenStijl pissed on Fox too.

GeenStijl and De Telegraaf have set up a ‘decleration of independance’, but we all know that that means fcuk all. NieuwNieuws.nl, of which I display the headlines in the column here to the right, is also GeenStijl, so that will be disabled for the time being on my blog.

I’m no longer going to wear my GeenStijl shirt proudly. It’s over, the shirt’s going into the closet. The end.

‘Ragged Old Flag’ - Johnny Cash

I walked through a county courthouse square
On a park bench, an old man was sittin’ there.
I said, “Your old court house is kinda run down,
He said, “Naw, it’ll do for our little town”.
I said, “Your old flag pole is leaned a little bit,
And that’s a ragged old flag you got hangin’ on it”.
He said, “Have a seat”, and I sat down,
“Is this the first time you’ve been to our little town”
I said, “I think it is”
He said “I don’t like to brag, but we’re kinda proud of
That ragged old flag

“You see, we got a little hole in that flag there,
When Washington took it across the Delaware.
and it got powder burned the night Francis Scott Key sat watching it,
writing “Say Can You See”
It got a rip in New Orleans, with Packingham & Jackson
tugging at its seams.
and it almost fell at the Alamo
beside the Texas flag,
But she waved on though.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville,
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee and Beauregard and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on
That ragged old flag

“On Flanders Field in World War I,
She got a big hole from a Bertha Gun,
She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp, and low, a time or two,
She was in Korea, Vietnam, she went where she was sent
by her Uncle Sam.
She waved from our ships upon the briny foam
and now they’ve about quit wavin’ back here at home
in her own good land here she’s been abused,
She’s been burned, dishonored, denied an’ refused,
And the government for which she stands
Has been scandalized throughout out the land.
And she’s getting thread bare, and she’s wearin’ thin,
But she’s in good shape, for the shape she’s in.
Cause she’s been through the fire before
and I believe she can take a whole lot more.

“So we raise her up every morning
And we bring her down slow every night,
We don’t let her touch the ground,
And we fold her up right.
On second thought
I *do* like to brag
Cause I’m mighty proud of
That ragged old flag”

I had two wonderful days. Yesterday, Renaat took me to the cinema to go see ‘Walk The Line‘, the biopic about Johnny Cash, the best country/rock singer/songwriter ever to walk this earth– and idol of mine. The visit was a gift from Renate for my birthday (I know, my birthday was 1st December, don’t ask. One of my personal mottos: why rush when there’s plenty o’time?).

I went to her place in Amsterdam, where she cooked me a ’simple’ (her word), but extremely delicious dinner. I felt a litle bit guilty because I couldn’t really do anything to help– she wouldn’t let me. Other then that, I’m very clumsy, especially around things that are hot, so you can imagine the kitchen ain’t my favourite place of the house (well, it is, actually, as that’s where the coffee machine is, but you get my point). Anyway, I really enjoyed it, and so did she.

We then left to go to Pathe De Munt, actually one of my favourite cinemas ever (right after De Metro and a cinema in Antwerp): I love the comfy chairs there. After having a drink, the movie started.

And oh how I was blown away. I simply enjoyed every second of it. Joaquin Phoenix put Cash wonderfully– even though not really looking like the Man in Black, his character, style, and especially voice, were spot on. And Reese Witherspoon… I instantly fell in love with her the moment she appeared on the screen. I’ve never seen any woman act like she did in a film– ever. I’m too little familiar with June Carter to judge the authenticity of her acting and singing, but in any case, it appeared 100% authentic to me (Update: Just found out Johnny and June personally chose Reese and Joaquin)

The film had it all– touching moments, funny moments, beautiful music, beautiful camera work, good conversations, and oh, did I mention the excellent music? The music… Seriously. I had big smiles all over my face during the singing scenes. And their singing was… So beautiful. And the fact they really did sing, instead of the usual lip-syncing crap of today’s ‘artists’, makes my admiration only greater. Especially the duet Time’s A Wastin’ I cannot seem to get out of my head– not just the music, but also the imagery.

Me and Renate already knew we were born way too late. We are supposed to live in the 50s and 60s– it’s written all over us. This film only strengthened that feeling.

After the film, we decided to walk home, instead of taking the subway and tram. It was a 40 minute walk along the Amstel, during which we talked about various matters. Renate and me usually disagree about everything, and yesterdaynight wasn’t really an exception.

—

Today we had breakfast with warm bread from the oven– also tasted really good. I had to go to university today (Renate didn’t). There, I had loads of fun with Marco and Felicia (’blondie’– don’t ask). After class, I spent a few hours in the pub with Martin, Levi, Marco, and Michelle. I got to know Michelle a little better that way, and she’s a really nice girl.

—

Yup, two good days, just what I need for coming Monday. Me mum will have her first photography examination. I’m confident– but scared as fcuk.

—

Johnny Cash 1932-2003
June Cash-Carter 1929-2003

I’m astonished. I’m watching this documentary about a primary school in China– and the way they teach there… I’m flabbergasted. We can learn SO MUCH from that. The teacher treats the class as a team, and focuses letting the students stand up for one another– contrary to our western way of focussing on the individual. A few highlights:

I’m not sure whether or not to place this in my brand new ‘Black helicopters!’ topic, but it sure does fit in amazingly well.

In any case, as some of you may know, The Netherlands still has a few colonies in the Carribean. Aruba, Boniare, Curacau, Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but have a lot of autonomy (which results in those isles being a mess, we should take some autonomy away there, but oh well). However, the ‘ABC islands’ (the first three) have long been claimed by… Venezuela. Yes, one of the poorest countries in South America has been claiming the ABC islands for centuries. The previous government of Venezuela kind of dropped those claims (they’d be mental to mess with one of the richest countries in the world– a founding-member of NATO for that matter), however, the new president, Hugo Chavez (not really a friend of the US either) has reinstated the claims.

There are actually talks of… War. I’m not kidding.

Henk Kamp, Dutch secretary of defence, has belittled these claims. We Dutch have a complete plan ready to counter any invasion by Venezuela, consisting of bomb raids, counterinvasions, naval war, etc. Kamp also mentioned the ‘one Venezuolan cruiser’, obviously belittleing them even more. We have numerous cruisers in the Carribean fighting drug smugglers and such, and of course the US is right behind us, so we seriously have little to fear.

However doesn’t this sound an awful lot familiar? Did I hear you say Falkland War? Exactly.

Yeah, uh, right. Anyway, I’m not done yet– the best part is coming– the part which makes me place this story in ‘Black helicopters!’ The Venezuolan consul-general said that ‘Henk Kamp is part of a conspiracy of an international minority to discredit the Chavez administration and make it fall’.

I’m still laughing out loud. Consul-general, this is the place for you!

Update: I just witnessed the response of the Mothers of Srebrenica… Just… No words. This is such a sad day.

—

Slobodan Milosevic was found dead in his cell this morning.. And I only just found out (it was very busy at work, so I never caught the news on the radio).

Jesus fcuking Christ, holy motherfcuking of son of a bitch. Why oh why were we not allowed to make him suffer? WHY? Now, he died a relatively peaceful and easy death– unlike his victims, who died slow, painful, horrifying deaths. Unlike the families of his victims, who still suffer to this day, with the only thing to cling on to the fact that the killer of their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, was in Scheveningen in a prison cell, waiting to receive a fitting punishment. Now, that too, has been taken away from them. I feel so, so, so, very, very, very sorry for them. I don’t like to admit it (hey I’m a man), but it brings tears to my eyes– tears of blind, uncontrolled rage.

The world is an unfair place. May he be sent to the deepest of creeps in hell, to suffer there for all etirnity– and then some.

James Blunt, officer of the British/NATO soldiers who first entered Yugoslavia during the war, experienced the horror first hand, and had this to say about it (’No Bravery’):

There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
Tears drying on their face.
He has been here.
Brothers lie in shallow graves.
Fathers lost without a trace.
A nation blind to their disgrace,
Since he’s been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

Houses burnt beyond repair.
The smell of death is in the air.
A woman weeping in despair says,
He has been here.
Tracer lighting up the sky.
It’s another families’ turn to die.
A child afraid to even cry out says,
He has been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
But no one asks the question why,
He has been here.
Old men kneel and accept their fate.
Wives and daughters cut and raped.
A generation drenched in hate.
Says, he has been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

I need to calm down. It makes no sense, but since Milosevic died on Dutch soil, I have to offer my sincerest of apoligies to his victims… Sorry we failed you. Again.

It’s no surprise to regulars around here that as far as I’m concerned, there’s only one country, and only one continent I’d like to live in. And that is of course The Netherlands, in Europe. Born, raised, everything: it all lies here. It’s home.

Secondly, barely anyone I know gets that other trait of mine: I’m a traditionalist, and a royalist– to the bone. I’m a strong supporter of my kingdom, and am proud of what we have made out of our little country (I’m not so proud of our past, though, but that is for another post– if not for another book. Other than that, there’s enough today to bitch about too). For instance, I personally would have no problems at all with transferring more power to the Crown. I can’t explain it, but let me just say that democracy has its downsides. I’ll leave it up to each reader’s intellect to name those for himself.

Especially Americans never seem to get what it is exactly that makes someone, in this case me, a traditonianlistic royalist. I can’t tell you either; you either have it, or you don’t. But to give you an idea: I was just reading the news, and I got all excited over an item which told about how the true Dutch treasure chest was moved. Yup, we have a true treasure chest; built in the 17th century out of wood. It used to be used by wealthy merchants, the tax agency, and the military. Today, it has a purely symbolic function, residing in the office of the Secretary of Finance.

Cool huh?

Slowly but surely, I’m priming my parents towards buying a new car. It might take another one or two years before I’m done (our current car has ran way too few kilometres), but by then I will have influenced the choice badly :).

In any case, they’re currently very charmed by the new Mitshubishi Colt 5 door hatch. They want a smaller car than the one they have now, and in that respect the Colt is a logical choice. It’s cheaper than the one we have now (Spacestar), so I already said to me dad we might be able to spend that money on getting a better engine in the new car. And surprise, when me and me mum were walking towards the voting booth Tuesday, she said to me, “and if we get the Colt, which is cheaper, we could take one with a better engine.”

I so totally rock.

Another good option would be the brand spankin’ new Nissan Note. I like the car’s grille, which is heavily influenced by the Murano’s, as far as I’m concerned, the best-looking SUV made to date (with a pricetag to match). What I don’t like about the Note, are its Micra-like headlights. Overall, they give the car a slight feminine feel, and that’s too bad.

Looking at it from a driver’s perspective, I’d like the Nissan Note. Every single Nissan I’ve driven (my own Micra, the Micra I just linked to, and two Nissan saloons during my driving lessons) drive so well, so balanced, so effortless. However, looking at it from the ‘the-eye-wants-something-too’ perspective, I’d like the Colt. However, a line from Fiona Apple just popped into my mind:

I don’t understand about diamonds and why men buy them
What’s so impressive about a diamond except the mining?

Fiona’d take the Note. Where does that leave yours truly?

The receiver I was talking about– it’s here! It’s here! It’s a really fancy Sony STR-DE515. It has all the fancy surround stuff too, and it has a programmable remote. Seriously– the remote is scary. It can actually ‘learn’ the signals of other remotes by reading the other remote’s IR signals. Spooky.

I’m really happy with it, for only EUR 60,-!