In short...

Sometimes it's great to be able to say something smart and thoughtful, in only a few words... In other words, don't even try to read the EU Constitution... ;)

William S. Burroughs
"A paranoid is someone who knows a little of what's going on."

George Burns
"I can remember when the air was clean and sex was dirty."

Kin Hubbard
"Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation."

My kingdom for a normal pair of socks!!

This will probably be the most insignificant and stupid post ever (and having said that I am sure Mark will do his best to find a worse one), but this is is something I need to get off my chest (I'll write about the brilliant French 'no' later).

This is something everyone can recognise... Why is it that every bloody time I do laundry a sock disappears???
Now again!
Last week I had a big cleaning day here, and I also decided to go through my sock drawer, after which I could throw away 9 or 10 single socks... All made widow by the evil washing machine (or my neglect)... either...

So, 'organised' person that I am I bought some new socks and nicely wrapped up all the ones that I had left.
I figured that would be another step towards maturity or something?
No more 'problems' there then...?
Noooooooo, just did my laundry again, and AGAIN 2 socks disappeared... how? when? what...? what the f...?
I checked the machine!!! ...twice!! Really, I did!! I really did... (voice trailing off, and tears rolling down my face...)
What can a man do about it? It wasn't me!! Really!! (And more sobbing...)

Ok, shower then... let's see what else is missing after that...maybe one of my eyes will be flushed out or something... (sarcasm drenched voice...)

Over to a normal day then?

Kongens Nytorv

Today, after a loooooong time, after a big reconstruction, is the official re-opening of one of the loveliest and oldest squares in Copenhagen. With a big concert and all!
One could wonder, why so much fuss for a square?
Well, the square is built on old foundations of the old city that Copenhagen is, at it lie the old Royal Theatre, the most famous hotel in Denmark: Hotel D'Angleterre, the department store Magasin Du Nord, the French embassy and an art museum, amongst others. And of course, the beginning of the 'sunniest' place in Denmark, Nyhavn! (we went yesterday, and it was packed with smiling, beer-drinking, looking-and-be-looked-at people. Really great day!)

Unfortunately, for more than 2 years it has been closed for reconstructions and renovation, much needed I might add..
The problem was that traffic was a bitch there, that for 2 years we couldn't go skating on the tradional iceskating ring which in my eyes beats everything else in the world.
Around every Christmas an ice skating rink is constructed and going there at dusk is simply the most angelic, lovely, fairytale-like and romantic thing ever. It's just the most beautiful sight, skating there... Finally, this winter, if/when I am in Copenhagen, I can finally go again!!
All the old buildings surrounding the square are decorated, with lights and all, and in the center of it is the little 'park' with a statue. It's the statue of a knight/king on a horse, and tradition has it every year, that when high-school students finish their studies, when they go on the tour through the city (whole different story, for another day) they are that one day allowed to climb in and climb up on and touch the statue. Apparently it brings luck!
It goes way back... My dad helped my mom climb into the park when she finished high school, and at the same time had to help all her (female) class mates. How 'unfortunate'!! :)

So, this square, under which - when building the metro - they found remnants of shipyards from the 15th century, is open again, in all its glory! So, let the sun shine!!

Vienna, May 24th 1995

Wow, it's already 10 years ago...
Much has changed since then... (to use a common phrase)

That day, what a day...

That night was the final of the Champions League of 1995, AC Milan vs Ajax Amsterdam.
The winner of 1994 against a team of still quite young players, slowly being moulded into one of the best playing teams the club has ever seen.
Twice earlier that season they had met, twice Ajax won, where especially the second game, the away game that was played in Triëst, was a display of class, style and finesse. Twice Ajax had won already. But, even though these wins had gained them respect, the final was a different ballgame, and the Italians were ready for it.
Ajax had reached the final in style though, simply 'destroying' Bayern Munich in the semi's with 5-2 win at home... My eyes are watering thinking back. Remember that goal of Finidi?

Of course, with Ajax in the final, the only place (except the stadium in Vienna) to watch would be in Amsterdam.
The day came and off we went then, Maarten, Rogier, his brother-in-law Ed, Raymond and me, all packed into a small car...
We finally drove off quite late, as the one who was supposed to drive came back late from work, and was the only one with his own car at the time...
So, off to Amsterdam to watch the game.
After parking the car a bit out of the center, and taking the metro to the main streets, we walked around a bit looking for a good place to watch the game. At the most obvious place, Leidseplein, it was impossible to see anything: the rumours about a big screen were not true, and all the cafe's were already bursting with people.
Mmmm, let's walk around a bit more then. We had seen a fairly decent place, with lots of tv's, but it was totally empty, so we decided to look elsewhere. No luck though. Ok, back then...
Looking inside it seemed alright, and as there was another group of fans walking around looking for a place, we decided all to go in here...
What a choice it turned out to be...
Only guys inside, and all of them very... peculiar. The bartender was running around in a very tight, sleeveless, white t-shirt and on all the walls were black-and-white pictures of male torso's...
Riiiiiight... nice to know we entered a gay bar!! Still, there were a lot of tv's and we had to watch the game. So... we had to overcome the usual football fan aversity to gays (the football world is not the most open on that particular issue unfortunately) and since there were mostly football fans there the beer started flowing. Some guys even put Ajax shirts over the pictures!! Hahaha...
At one point, at a horrible decision (in our eyes) of the referee, everything 'bad' that could be said about gays was shouted at the screen, only to completely startle the gay regulars of the place sitting up front... They consequently left during half time...Looking back it is embarrassing, but at the moment it was hilarious...

What a game, the first half wasn't good, but the tension was high. Few really expected anyway to be able to win once again against the Italian giants, and the team seemed a bit subdued...
The rest is history, the karate kick of Van Gaal (still a hero for many then...), the substitutes, bringing in 2 18-year olds, Kluivert and Kanu, who instantly made an impact, upsetting the very experienced Italian defence. I mean, we're talking world-class here (Tassotti, Baresi, Costacurta and Maldini) and these 2 18-year olds gave the Ajax team the needed fresh blood and the pressure was mounting...
Then few minutes from time... Frank Rijkaard, former Milan player, was pushing his team hard, it would be his last game in his career and finishing it playing again with the team where it all started for him against the team were he became the star, was a dream come true, but he still wanted to win it.
He gets the ball, plays it to Kluivert, who is turning towards goal already. Rijkaard runs on, expecting the ball back, but Kluivert squeezes a toe against the ball, and it goes in...
And... everything around me exploded... beer, arms, shirts, caps, scarves, everything was flying around. We saw the last minutes in a haze, in a trance, just like the then young Kluivert who was standing in the middle of the field in a total trance, hardly comprehending what had just happened. The last image of the actual match I remember is Rijkaard giving him a very hard push, waking him up, there are still some minutes left...

The final whistle... another explosion of joy... grown men crying, laughing, shouting, screaming. We were all so happy, hardly able to express ourselves. Beating the reigning champion 3 times in a season, playing sometimes fantastic football, and all that with a young team, brimming with potential. 4 times we had won the most important Cup now, very few teams can say that...

All people started to leave, the only place left to party was of course: the Leidseplein, the square were all usually gather in such occasions.
Incredible sight... people that in their happiness had no idea what they were doing, laughing, dancing, singing, drinking, jumping...

Then, unfortunately, the joy turned sour. I don't get it, but slowly but surely people started trashing things. It was so obvious that it was going to happen, and in the prelude I could only conclude one thing: they really want to destroy things. It has nothing to do with football, or anything: they are drunk, they try to show themselves off in a weird way, and go all the way in destroying whatever is in front of them... Total idiots...
It was odd to see, nobody could do anything about it, it just happened. It is a strange sensation to see that, surreal almost. You want to do something, but everyone seems paralysed somehow.
Then, of course, the police intervened, sweeping the area. Fortunately only a few minutes before we had started to leave. There was no reason to stay, and we knew things would get ugly.
A strange ending to a great night, where the wonder at such destruction kept us fairly quiet on the way home. The fact that we hardly had any voice left from all the singing, screaming and yelling at the tv-screen didn't help either...

Wow, 10 years ago already. I still cherish the memory of that game and the fabulous homecoming of the team the day after, when the plane (brandnew from the factory, it was it's maiden flight) made a turn over the large square in the city (Museumplein) to say hi to the hundreds of thousands of fans gathered to greet their heros...
All this is etched in Dutch football history now, or what a small country can be good at!

And once againI have a big smile thinking back, what days...

I could keep writing, but will stop here, as I don't want to linger too much in the past of my team. This year was crap for them (last year as well, but it got hidden by the good results), and tomorrow night AC Milan is in the final once again... Still, with Paolo Maldini in the ranks. 20 years he has played in the first team. Respect...

Until next time!!

Who's next??

What a week... in the last 8 days I have had 4 women talking/moaning/crying/bitching/complaining about boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, crushes, future husbands... to me! In length... very extensively... oooooofff... deeeep breath...
Somewhere in between lending an ear and providing a shoulder to cry on, I have somehow ended up becoming a relationship councilor, something I don't think I am qualified for at all by the way, but that's another story...

What the f... happened here???? First of all, I don't mind really, I want to be a friend that is willing to listen when a friend needs to talk, needs to get something off their chest, needs someone to be there for them, but after 1 week of hearing all kinds of heartbreaking stories, I wouldn't mind some loving arms myself... pffffff....

On the other hand, trying to see the positive in all this... Fortunately they do actually see me as a good friend, to which they can tell all this (which is great to know), and also... there is a pure gain for me too, as I have learned, once again, a lot about the female psyche and all the stupid things (in their eyes) we guys are able to do... ;)
Something that could become veeeeery useful in the future, as I can get and have been pretty stupid, dumb and blind too... well, what can I say...

So, once again, who's next?

Lights out, music on and close your eyes...

Another proof of our networked world, another show of how thinking by association can benefit here and there, inspiration can be found everywhere, with everyone...
Dani sent me an email yesterday, and to 3 others, with the question whether we wanted to fill in some questions that he had answered himself already in his post.

Offff, this was a hard post to write, which some pretty hard questions actually... but ok, here we go...

- How much music is stored on your computer?

I don't really know whether I should disclose here the amount of digital music on my computer... it's a lot, and even though a large part is in my 'normal' cd collection as well, I have a lot of rare or hard-to-get-stuff that doesn't... ;) Great stuff, but I would never spend the amunts of money for it, no way it's worth it...

Mmm, there are live concerts (for example concerts I went to: Depeche Mode (CPH, 2001), U2 (Torino, 2001), Pearl Jam (Amsterdam, 1996), Smashing Pumpkins (1995)), rare version of songs from all kinds of sources, remixes, music from Colombia to Australia, from Denmark to Argentina, from Holland to Mexico...
Everything... I think :)
From obscure flamenco from the 1960s to a 1920s recording of Bessie Smith, to a Miles Davis concert in Amsterdam, to the new album of Elefantes, a Prince concert from 1982 to cheesy summer beach party music from Spain ('musica de bacalao' I think it is called), to, of course, (almost) everything of Maná, Carlos Vives, Pulp, Yann Tiersen, Ocean Colour Scene, Pearl Jam, Natalie Merchant... on and on and on...

- Last cd/DVD that I bought:
Hmmm, hard one, as I haven't bought any disc for a long time actually. Most probably a result of the great Internet connection here ;) but...
I'll give a list then of the last discs I bought/got as a present, to give an impression at least... and this spans at least 7-8 months if I remember correctly:

Bebo & Cigala - Lágrimas Negras (Edicion especial) (brilliant flamenco album, a young singer teams up with an old Cuban pianist, recreating old songs into an amazing amalgam of styles, it comes with a concert DVD that oozes musicality...simply beautiful)
Jeff Buckley - Grace (10 year anniversary edition) (better late than never I guess. I never really liked it, in comparison to my old friends in Holland (I even turned down to to the concert!!!! ahhhhh), but I started listening to it while being here in DK, and I have grown to love some songs, and this album of course, starts it all)
Maná - MTV Unplugged (DVD) (what can I say, the music cd version of this I have played almost daily for the last five years... one of my favourite albums ever)
Maná - Acceso Total (DVD) (Dani & I have been waiting forever to get our hands on this. We went to the concert in 2003 in Hamburg (as I wrote about before) and this DVD is a compilation of images, video and music of their whole Revolucion de Amor tour. So good... I love it... and actually there are few seconds of footage from the concert we went to... (no, I am not in it). Now, let's wait for the new album to come out, late 2005!)
Various - Neruda En El Corazon (Who would have thought: Peter immersing himself in poetry... beautiful, all kinds of artists giving their musical interpretation of Pablo Neruda poems)
Mark Lanegan - Bubblegum (Going to back to my roots, the former singer of the Screaming Trees with his latest solo album. That voice is just cool, low, and screwed up by whiskey & cigarettes...)
Lamb - Best Kept Secrets (Best of Lamb 1996-2004) (special edition) (One of the few bands that managed to step out of the 'trip-hop' shadow of Portishead, creating a great sound. A lyrical part of my favorite song 'Gorecki' is used in the movie Moulin Rouge)
Carlos Vives - El Rock De Mi Pueblo (No much to say here, Colombian music, happy music, makes me smile and dance... the newest album, go check it out!)

I guess that in the near future the latest U2 and upcoming Coldplay will be added too... we'll see...

Perhaps you can gather from my words that yes, music downloading has a great influence on the purchasing of discs...but... for one thing, I am using my money different then I used to, and secondly, I kind of lost touch with new music. Not quite, but I'm not as much 'on it' as I used to when I still lived in Holland. Guess I am growing up huh?
But really, my music taste has been widening a lot in my years here. On purpose I don't say changed, because still, give me some old 80s crap from when I grew up, and even, I am recently listening a lot again to some albums that gave me a lot back then, like the old Hallo Venray stuff (Dutch band) or Pearl Jams' first: 'Ten'. Maybe it's a wave of nostalgia or melancholy, but I feel good when listening to that. It brings back lots of smiles to my face, to the time where we (Maarten, Rogier and Me) used to go to 'our' record store (Plato in Rotterdam) waaaay to much. They had the best slogan that a music lover wants to hear: "For the music you know and the music you want to know". I never walked out of that store with a purchase I later regretted, the people working there are music lovers themselves, and will never make you go home with something you won't like... Only good music, that has now nestled itself in my subconscious, and pops up once in a while "ahhhh, let's hear that!"

- What song are you listening too now? or: (Canción que estoy escuchando ahora)
I started with... Joaquin Sabina - Calle Melancholía
"Si quieres encontrarme, ya sabes donde estoy..." It goes straight into your heart... It's the live acoustic version, from a concert he did...

(Well, while writing this I heard the above (in this order), The Cure, Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Depeche Mode, Santa Fe, Espen Lind, Madonna, Coldplay, Elefantes, Shawn Mullins, Ryan Adams, Heather Nova, Van Morrison, The Beatles, Adonis (from Warp), The Cult, Youp van' Hek, Sleeper, Badly Drawn Boy, Faith No More and Miles Davis...)

And now for the hardest question...
- 5 canciones que escucho un montón o que tienen algun significado para mí:
- 5 songs that I listen to a loooot or that have some sort of special meaning to me...:

Actually, I have been thinking about the last part a lot in the last weeks, even before Dani told me about this. As my time here in this residence is coming to an end within a few months, I start to reflect... and many songs come to mind. But only 5 appear here.... I think over time, I will discuss others as well... can't help it :)
So, there they are... a mix of my youth and my years in DK, for now...

- I have to choose only one from them, so it will be the first song I ever heard of them ...that has taught me a lot ...that reminds me of... well, that is not something for here. Sometimes memories come back to haunt...
Here it is: Maná - Vivir Sin Aire

- Pearl Jam - Black - very simply the ultimate teenage heartbreak song "I know someday you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a star, in somebody else's sky, but why, oh why, can't it be mine?" I wrote down that lyric from memory... didn't even have to look it up, and I haven't heard it for a long time...

- Temple Of The Dog - Say Hello To Heaven - I don't have to explain everything... just look in my posts from the end of November...

- Eagle Eye Cherry - Save Tonight...the first song (together with Aerosmith's 'I don't want to miss a thing') that made me think and think back to the time spent here, meeting such great and fantastic people, and having to let them go at some point or another... or as Youp van 't Hek once said "Thing are only fun because they finish at some time, if they would keep going, keep continuing, they'd stop being fun at one point.."
Save tonight
and fight the break of dawn
Come tomorrow
tomorrow I'll be gone

- Saybia - The Second You Sleep Same explaniation as above basically, a song that has a lot of meaning for me and for many that have lived here, and has been instrumental to a love that is still enduring between some good friends. What more can you want from a song? :)
A Danish band, a big hit here, and in the hearts of many all over the world now...
I stay to watch you fade away
I dream of you tonight
Tomorrow you'll be gone
It gives me time to stay, to watch you fade away
I dream of you tonight
Tomorrow you'll be gone
I wish by god you'll stay

Think this is it for now...
Mmmm...think it is obvious I love music, huh?

So, who's next?

Me, apparently...

You scored as Existentialist. Existentialism emphasizes human capability. There is no greater power interfering with life and thus it is up to us to make things happen. Sometimes considered a negative and depressing world view, your optimism towards human accomplishment is immense. Mankind is condemned to be free and must accept the responsibility.

Existentialist		81%
Cultural Creative		75%
Postmodernist		69%
Materialist		56%
Romanticist		56%
Idealist		50%
Modernist		50%
Fundamentalist		31%

What is Your World View? (corrected...again)
created with QuizFarm.com

Summer carnaval

Where to start, where to start... well, we had two days of sun (woooooooow), and fortunately the Copenhagen summer carnaval was planned in those days.
The large park, Fælledparken, was set up for a 'real' Southamerican style carnaval, with music, dance, food, lots of people having a good time, and even
There were a loooooot of good things to see, in every aspect ;)

Brazilian samba and capoeira, Colombian cumbia, warm sounds straight from Cuba, and everyone smiling. How could you not smile in an environment like that?

The funniest things though, the fact that mostly Danes were playing and dancing in the samba bands, or that you'd see an elderly blonde woman playing bass in a pretty good salsa band. Or as Jochem put it well, it reflects the travelling spirit of a wealthy nation, trying to re-capture what they encountered far away from home.
Weiiiird, still, it was mostly Brazilians and other southamericans showed their love for and skills in music and dance. It was one big party from 10 in the morning until 12-1 at night, when the last tents would finish the last acts. And no one had any problem with a lovely spring sun warming up some cold and stiff danish bones!

As well, it was a testament to the 'multicultural' and 'cosmopolitan' side of the city. Probably every Southamerican in the city was there, I heard almost more Spanish and Portuguese than Danish. Yeah, it was fun to hear all that!
Apart from that I was enjoying to see so many mixed couples (with kids and all), a dane with a beautiful latin woman, or a Brazilian with a big smile dancing with his Danish girlfriend. It was good to see not everyone is infected with that vile venom called xenofobia...
I even saw a Danish girl who used to live here not so long ago, 7-8 months pregnant... ooooffff (José, remember Jannie?)

Aaaaaannnyyywwaaaay, for a while now I haven't been able to upload pictures, but for some nice impressions, check out the link in the title of check out Jochem's pictures here.

See you next year again, I hope :)

A great connection

In my first years here in Denmark I was (and still am) so fortunate to have some Spanish from the northern city of Pamplona as my best friends, which, combined with an old memory of Ajax in the season 91/92, gave me a strong affection to the local team, Osasuna. Having been in Pamplona twice since, I naturally saw the stadium, El Sadar and got hold of a shirt of that season with my name on it. Apparently I have met some of the players too, during the San Fermin festivities in 2000 (where the captain of the team did the opening as they had just been promoted), but truth to say, I don't really recall that... probably a result of the kalimotxo/calimocho!
Since then I have been following their results regularly, and grown fond of them. Later, I even received a scarf from another Osasuna fan, Aritz, for my birthday.
And of course, I still have a long-standing promise to Roberto and Miyagi that I will visit a game with them, at home. Hope that day will come soon!

Another time, another day, meeting Dani, we spoke a loooooooot about football, with him being from Sevilla, a passionate fan of one of the local teams, Betis Sevilla. Also there we have a long-standing agreement to go and see games together, which as for Osasuna as well, will happen for sure when I finally will be able to fullfill my dream of starting a life in Spain, sometime within the next year I hope.

So, you can understand that my affections do not lie with any big team, but is related to some strong friendships, and nothing more than that. (As my nr.1 team Ajax is playing Champions league next season, it would be cool if the teams meet)

Now, chance has it that I will have to decide soon, and make my choice, as both Betis and Osasuna have made it to the Cup Final in Spain, writing history since Osasuna never came that far before.

I hope the game will be broadcasted somehow on tv here, so I can watch, and cheer for all my friends, whom I no doubt will be present in the stadium, with Roco living in Madrid now and Dani, the fan that he is, probably will go too!

Well, to all of you, buena suerte!

Saved!

Wow...
Fortunately there are good movies in the world too. Considerate, thoughtful, beautiful, tender, real, careful, intricate, sweet, impressive, and makes your mind work and wander...
'Mar Adentro', by Alejandro Amenabar.
As said before, it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Movie of 2004, and I think a movie has rarely earned it more. If only that Hollywood dream factory would realise that more often...
Based on a true story, played out in the fantastically green area of Galicia (I just HAVE to visit that corner of the Iberian peninsula too..), it speaks of life and death, the right to live, the will to die, the unspeakable and yet tight bond between ordinary yet so special people, the grey area of moral obligation and real-world legal inhibitions.

Go and see it, listen to the words, see the images, and hear the music, and be reminded once again how lovely fragile and beautifully cruel life is.

Not the easiest movie to see, as we do not always want to be reminded and confronted of such matters. And, perhaps too obvious to say, but go with someone that you can find comfort, support and strength with, as you will need to be able to talk, to express your wonderment, your thoughts on such hard choices that have to made in life.
It reminded me of loss that everyone has suffered at some point in life, reminded me of another who had such a strong tie with the sea, someone who also passed away too early, with dignity as well, but who left a great void in many lives.
And yet, not being selfish, I am probably not the only one there in the theatre who had to think of someone who was taken away by the simple and complex cruelty that is our mortality.

To finish, then... as well, by chance, I finally met Miguel and his girlfriend as well. Someone who I had previously only heard of as he lived close to Dani, when he and Sarah were living in Valby and, of course through the 'weblog community'. Well, Dani, he and I are going to have some Cacique and Barcelo soon, I guess you have to drop by as well!!

Think, learn, live and cherish... what more can we do?

Kingdom of tears or something like that

Without sounding too whiny, I've got to say that I find it most perplexing again and again, how filmmakers are able to destroy and maim some of the most interesting and captivating stories in world history.

Guillaume and I (Sara is on holidays in Italy, so when the cat is away, the mice dance on the table) went yesterday to see 'Kingdom of Heaven', the new movie with Orlando Bloom (and many others), about the Crusades.

Some things in life are certain, like taxes and death, and also the fact that he and I have a scary knack of choosing bad movies to see (Matrix 2 and 3, Terminator 3, Vertical Limit, etc etc etc etc etc...).
And yes, again... Guillaume was even about to fall asleep. And that in one of the biggest movie theatres in DK, with a huuuuge screen, and sound that blows you away.

It's just... the movie never really springs to life, where it could have been so good, but it's just a bland mix between Gladiator, Braveheart and Lord of The Rings.

Actors from LOTR and Braveheart, the music from LOTR, the cinematography from Gladiator, some seriously bad dialogue.
I was alright with it though, until the first big speech. It was bad... not empowering or enlightening or exciting: it just stopped and then he walked away. I was really "and now, what?"
Seriously, some of the lines... Pathetic, Guillaume and I could have written it better in 5 minutes. "So you think being knighted makes these people fight better" (long intense pause, music swells up and disappears and then...) "Yes"...

And the effects, hmmm... good, but they felt like left-overs from LOTR. The siege towers in the end at the siege of Jerusalem: I was expecting huge Trolls to push them. The same with the sling shots, or even just the images from the walls and ramparts. I was thinking to see Gandalf on his white horse at any moment.

Really too bad. Our 'cilivilised' history has so many amazing and tantilising stories, and all of them get squandered and ruined for future use, as unfortunately a large part of the movie going audience apparently only learns from and only believes in what is said on the big screen...
Just already recent films like Troy, Alexander or King Arthur, and I cannot now quickly think of older stories although there are many examples, but there must be to many by now. All crippled by bad scripts, bad everything, political correctness or (over)sensitivity, once again proved here in this movie.

Too bad, it's a great and interesting subject, but some of the (political) correctness in the film was just too obvious and stifling.
Sometimes it felt as if a check list had been used: 1st girl dies (check), new love story (check), bad guy as husband/lover/jealous idiot (check), good leader dies (check), bad guy takes over (check), good guy makes it all right again (check), good guy loses but gets honored (check)...
Come on!!! Anything better than that!
And the length gets to you when the story just isn't up to standards... Too bad, too bad. Some great actors, that did great perform well, like Jeremy Irons and Liam Neeson, but had too small roles unfortunately..
Too bad, another missed chance of telling a good and 'real' story from our history...

Tonight I will see 'Mar Adentro', the new Spanish movie of Javier Bardem. It won the Oscar for best foreign movie, and even as it doesn't say much about the quality, I am curious. Something very different than the movie from yesterday for sure!

And another thing...

...what is this about the success of the Senseo coffee machine? I got one now (that thing I won last week. No, in the end I didn't send it to my mom, as it would get screwed in the mail anyway) and tried it twice now.
Had to see what all the fuss is about after all. I mean, the majority of the Dutch have it in their homes, there's got to be a reason?

So... it's alright, provided you like the taste of black water, with some weird foam on it... pretending to be real coffee. Still, it's better than regular filter shit.

Give me Sara's espresso or a good capuccino in a café downtown, like Baresso, anytime... Or freshly ground Colombian coffee in a French press coffee maker... when you talk about tasty coffee, go for something real, like that.
And not that crap marketing gimmick...

And the day continues...

Just to start off... it's interesting to see that as soon as I start talking about Danish women all you dogs out there start posting comments... Hhahahaha...

So... next...
After finishing the last post I called my parents to wish my mother happy birthday obviously. While on the phone my mobile suddenly starts ringing, on the phone a Dutch girl. With my headset on for my Skype phone call and a mobile on the other ear, that doesn't work.
So, "can I talk to you later?" Yup, somehow she got my number from JJ (btw, heaumeaux, thanks!! :) ) and is/was travelling with a group of people through the 25 EU countries for research on the people that live there. And, seeing how Dutch are doing in these countries. Obivously, I was the lucky one to be interviewed in DK.

Katy and I met up in the afternoon, in one of my favorite café's: Bankeråt in Nansensgade. Cool place, with the weirdest interior decorating ever (i.e. dolls heads as lamp shades), and on the other side of the street the best bakery in the city, where my grandfather used to go and pick up bread and pastry whenever we were visiting in CPH (of course, we went there after our coffee to pick up something).

It was a funny interview, as I was on total home ground, being able to talk about Denmark and Holland (and some Spain thrown in (of course!!), as she has lived in Valencia).
We talked for hours, and after I had a pizza with Jochem we were supposed to meet later again in the city, for a drink, to meet other Dutch in CPH and to watch the game AZ - Sporting Lissabon (I won't say anything else abt that game...).
In the Globe there is every first Thursday of the month a gathering of Dutch ex-pats (shiver shiver) in CPH, and as I had agreed to meet there with the Danes from Holland we met last week at the reception, I invited Katy and the others to meet up with us, perhaps going out afterwards.

So, yes, we did... after the game, and some good Belgian beers, Jochem and I took took Katy and Marianne (the rest of the group wasn't there) to the Moose, that was packed with drunk Brøndby fans (apparently they won the Cup that day)´.
And of course, we tried several typical Danish drinks. Don't think I have to explain you which ones, all the classics ;)

After sweating in the hole for little while we went to the next place, Zoo Bar, that is just down the street, and on the way we finally ran into Laura and the others. Her 'little' brother Jakob was there too, first time I saw him in yeaaaaaars.
First time I saw him, he was a baby on his mothers' arm, last time I saw him he was this little 9 year old brat. And here he is, a 22 year old, 2 meter tall Danish guy.

That wasn't the biggest surprise though... the suprise was: "Frank, what are you doing here?" (it was 2 am and I was pretty hammered by then...)
"Well, my wife is in Italy with some girl friends, so I figured I'd go out with my kids"
Unbelievable... Another priceless look on my face, I bet...
My minister, the one that did my confirmation when I was 14, who has never met me as an adult (and DEFINITELY not in a state like that...), meets me with his children at 2 am on Ascension Day in a bar street in Copenhagen... What can I say? Typical Denmark?

So, after a while in Zoo bar, they left us again, and in the end we were off to Dakota, where I hadn't been since the classic night in Easter with Alvaro and the rest of the gang.
Well, Dakota was Dakota, you know... except the music this time wasn't up to the usual Thursday standards. Oh well, we had fun! Surprised?

So, out from 3 pm, to the next morning 6 am... Bankeråt, The Globe, The Moose, Zoo Bar, Klaptræet, Dakota, Burger King, first train...
What a day...
...and I didn't bring a camera!!! Crap! Anybody give me a camera phone, please??

From one thing to the next

At first this post would exclusively deal with a scathing, frustrated and angry attack on Italian football teams, on the big ones especially, as once again, they showed their nauseating cold efficiency by seeing AC Milan reaching the Champions League final completely undeserved, after a lousy last minute goal against PSV... No, I know, that Dutch team is not my team at all, but there was only one team that deserved the final, and that was not Milan... It just seemed all too familiar, Ajax was killed by a last-minute goal as well 2 years ago, against the same team...

Anyway, Guillaume, Jochem and I made it a good evening anyway, as we more or less made it a beer tasting evening. We had 4 wheat beers, Paulaner, Erdinger, Schöffehofer (I call it Schopenhauer...) and a Belgian one that Jochem brought (I don't remember the name...)

So, on my way home, disappointed but with a happy buzz, after these quite potent beers, I put on my discman and started enjoying the music. While standing in the metro station waiting for the next one to come I started thinking of how to write this post, how to start, and thinking of future posts thanks to the music I was listening that reminded me of a conversation I had some days ago about my teenage years... anyway, that is for another day...

Then another opening sentence came up, as I while I was sitting in the metro I was once again deeply impressed with the beauty of the Danish woman, and their typical dress-sense (which is so lovely 80s/early 90s, and they don't even realise it as they just don't know...)
So, that happy smile became even bigger, and turned probably to a drunk scary grin...

Arriving in Nørreport Station was a sight for kings, I suddenly realised that today is a holiday, which explained the many people dressed up to go out. They looked absolutely stunning once again...
Still, for some reason, usually Danish women are right then, on their top, good at destroying that image you build up of them in your head, by doing something that shatters it completely...
And yes... of course...
As I went up the rolling stairs, I looked over and saw (my view was partly blocked by the elevator shaft and stairs) or what seemed 2 girls slouching, maybe ill? Maybe throwing up or something?
But no...
The higher I got on the stairs, my wonderment turned to a laughing, as these girls were actually quit fine (probably drunk), but were actually squatting there to take a piss, right there, at the beginning of the rolling stairs that lead downwards, giving everyone that came up the stairs a nice full view of it all, and I really mean: everything... (You've got to love them to for their lovely relaxed and non-hysterical attitude towards nudity)
OH MY GOD! The look on my face must have been priceless...

I am not a gadget person, who has to have the latest gizmo's and mobiles in my possesion, but it was the first time I would have LOVED to have a phone with a camera in it...
What a sight... I couldn't stop laughing! And called Jochem directly to tell him the story
Really, sometimes this country is really 'prettig gestoord' as 'we' say in Holland, it means 'merrily disturbed'... Guess you can understand that, huh?

As I was waiting for the train I resisted the temptation to turn around and go out, as the station was full of young beautiful people, in a slightly intoxicated manner, but no, I was being sensible... and went home...
To discuss the game, life, and all this once again...
Brilliant... Writing all this just makes me smile so much again...
And even, before finishing here I should congratulate as well!!
It's my mothers' 60th birthday today!!

Mor, hjertelig tillykke med fødselsdagen!!!!!!

For those of you who can count, yes, she was born on the actual Liberation Day, 5th of May 1945. The most important day in our recent history, the day where the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands and Denmark ended, a few days before the final capitulation of Nazi Germany.
My grandmother had been partying in the streets only hours before, and then later had to be rushed to hospital, for the best present one can get. So, born under a lucky star, that's for sure!!

And then of course, last, but not least, to Elena, Fati and Ravi: have a good trip and enjoy! You'll have a blast and hope to see you there!!!

The end... for now!

Curious...

Once in a while I look at my statistics of the site, just curious to see how people find my site, and which posts get found.
I have to say, there are some weeeeeeeird search queries that end up on this site...

Still, 2 searches caught my attention, as they were obviously were from someone I know, and I just can't figure out who it is!
When you search specifically on my site on the words 'job' and 'girlfriend'... hmm, you have to know me, I think :)
But then again, it's from Norway, or at least from the Norwegian Google... and I don't know anyone there! At least, not anyone who knows the address to my blog...

Would you please stand up? I am dying of curiosity! Another piece of the puzzle...