Yet again, precisely on time, Holland has turned orange on the 30th of April. Queen’s day is there, but this time is the last in the modern history of the country.
The Last Queen’s Day
Jazz: Kramer Shilkloper in Tyumen
I’ve published rare footage I filmed a few years ago. It was a performance given by two greatest jazz musicians of our time, Daniel Kramer (piano) and Arkady Shilkloper (French horn, flugelhorn, alphorn) at Tyumen Concert Hall on February 10, 2008.
My website
Sound Switcher Indicator ‣ Sound Switcher Indicator for Ubuntu
I couldn’t take it anymore so I created an audio input/output switcher indicator for Ubuntu.
Liberated from property
Prologue
The life in Holland, smooth in general, sometimes delivers nasty surprises.
On the last Liberation Day (May 5, 2012), I was liberated from my wallet (and the wallet, respectively, from me). It was stolen in Utrecht, a very nice city otherwise, at the Central Station, in a Chinese restaurant called Charlie Chiu’s, where we decided to make a pit-stop before a long and exhausting shopping round.
Bye Beatrix!
Queen Beatrix has just announced she would abdicate from the Dutch throne in favour of her eldest son, 45 years old Willem-Alexander.
The public has been expecting such a move from her for a while, since the moment a renovation of the Drakensteyn castle has started a few years ago.
A Winter Evening with Stream of Passion 2013
I realize everyone is alreay sick of my gig reports, but can’t really help it. Let’s just keep it short…
On December 28, 2012 the Dutch progressive metal band Stream of Passion, lead by the splendid Marcela Bovio, gave a festive Christmas/New Year’s Eve gig.
A fruit Xmas tree
In the New Year’s Eve we’ve made a fruit tree, a real one:
Pleasant Amersfoort
In November last year we and Amersfoort were officially introduced to each other.
The event is held once a year for all newcomers to the city. Its name Amersfoort Aangenaam, literally translated as “Pleasant Amersfoort,” is a standard expression used for introducing someone. The invitation was on the name of my girlfried as I’m no newcomer anymore.
How to make a ham holder
This is a how-to for making a jamón holder (a.k.a. ham stand or jamonera) from IKEA household products.
After all those jamón (Spanish dry-cured ham) stories by Alex Exler I’ve read, I felt an urge to give it a try. And one day I saw one in the local grocery store: Villar Jamon Serrano Reserva, weight ca. 7 kg for € 49.95. It is just advisable to get acquainted with jamón by tasting its cheapest varieties.
Happy New Year (again)!
Exactly one year ago, on January 1, 2012 I was late for the “New Year’s dive”, Nieuwjaarsduik, because it took me too long to find a parking space). Then I had to dive in solitude.
In case you have no idea what it is about: Nieuwjaarsduik is a stunning event when live people plunge into the water of a temperature slightly above the freezing point, organized in Holland nationwide by Unox. The main diving venue is in Scheveningen, near by the Hague, and people here run right into the North Sea.