Category Archives: Audio

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Remember Expectations

I don’t read many books. I blame the internet. I read hours and hours of blog posts every week. I read newspapers, work emails, and graffiti.. but rarely a book.

Still, in my younger years I would read books. And if there’s one book that for some inexplicable reason I loved as a kid, it was Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. Maybe I like it because its the story of a boy who is tortured by the women he loves and I’m a masochist so I like that kind of stuff. It’s a very dark story, and maybe I like that sort of thing as well.

So tonight, after playing a show with my darling A in Haarlem, I had the movie version of Great Expectations waiting for me. (thanks to the magic of Bittorent) You may have seen this 90’s production with Ethan Hawke and Gweneth Paltrow. And if you did, you probably remember it as a crap movie, and you’re probably right. But as I watched, my love for the story came back, and I found myself feeling the anger of the main character, feeling the brokenheartedness. I bet the movie probably wasn’t that good, but I was too busy remembering the REAL story and thinking back to when I first read it and how great it was.

Referendumb

Well.. the results are in… the Dutch said a big NO. Nee to the constitution.

A few days ago I expressed my support for the yes’s, but after having listened to different testimony on public radio, and discussing it with everyone througout the day, maybe NO has its virtues. Cause maybe the EU and the principles it solidifies an excessively corporatist government. Maybe this really is too much for europe. Maybe the No’s are right, and they just saved the continent from a terrible occurance.

See that… I just did a blog 180.

This Ones Personal

Before I write another sentence, this is a disclaimer; while there may be no REAL rules on the communique, I have one demand on all of ye beautiful people who will comment, don’t give me pity on this one. Don’t give me compliments, cause then you’re just feeding the virtual ego, and even though its what I might subconsciously want, it’s not my original purpose for writing this one.

This is about the heart. The bicyclemark heart, cause like everybody, I gots’ one. And its late spring in the Netherlands, and everywhere you look, you see the lovers. Lots of you, as blog readers and writers, are keen observers like myself, and you’ve seen them. Some of you probably look and go, AHA, I have that at home. OR, some of you do like me, and you stare without them noticing, cause you want to soak it in. And when you’re soaking it in you’re not being psycho, you’re doing it for a number of reasons, like: admiration, jealously, voyeurism, vicarious living, hate, lonliness, wonder, and yes.. maybe even hope. All those may not be rational, but when I see the lovers on the street corner or on the park bench, or one riding on the back of his/her partner’s bike, I can have any of these.

See cause til this point, I’m a lifer. 25 years young, well travelled, schooled, even worked a bit, but I don’t know much about the realm of love. Maybe you can know alot just by watching, if that’s the case, then I’m probably a sage. But if you ask me, deep down, I just feel like the I’m in one of those movies where a ghost comes back to earth and just kind of watches and occasionally talks to people to help them through some issue.

Yeah, you hearing it correctly, I’m getting wierd on you. But its a thought and a feeling that deserves some airing, even on the internet. I don’t know if I’m just impatient, confused, or just dumb, but things don’t feel right internally, I can tell you that.

Bam, thats it… now to forget all about that crap, lets talk about the midnight mailman’s telethon!

F the Masses

The word on the street in the Netherlands is EU consitution. Maybe where you live you haven’t heard, so I’ll briefly tell you about how France voted 55% against the draft of the European Constitution. ‘Course less then 5% probably read it, but nevermind, civic education isn’t a prerequiset in present-day democracy. I’ll let Madame L tell you more about the French case.

But the buzz here in Amsterdam is: you thought the French were rough, the Dutch are going to spit all over the dam thing. Oh yeah, they’re voting (we?) in a referendum wednesday and the No camp is everywhere and everyone is climbing aboard.

Normally I would have nothing against a well-informed and thought out NO vote to such a proposal. The Dutch, like all of Europe in the past 20 years, have seen their beautiful social system dismantled in the name of liberalization. And to ad insult to injury soon most of them will be employed through temp agencies, much like yours truely – if they have a job at all. But what’s happenning here is not a sudden moment of clarity for the electorate. I’ve listened to the opinions, I’ve tapped into the grapevine; this is mass hysteria. This is an angry citizenry who are unable to properly focus their anger. I mean really, who do you complain to about this global economy? It’s like getting angry at the rain.

Therefore I’m pissed. Seems the majority of the French and Dutch want to just lock the doors and step into a time warp with the year set at 1996 or something. Two of the most openminded cultures in the world, hubs of art and science, are falling into a panic. They say politicians are out of touch with the electorate. That’s an easy one. But I suspect the electorate is out of touch with itself, and reality for that matter.

But beyond any of this, as a Portuguese citizen living and working legally within the EU, I feel like these votes are against me. Against the idea that I should travel and work freely. As if my type of life choices are somehow dangerous to them. I can’t help but feel that they don’t see the Europe that I embody. Not a Europe bent on economic domination. But a Union that understands we have alot in common, and that together aims at achieving a good quality of life, beyond your stupid borders.