cut the c(r)ap…

The average EU cow receives a higher daily subsidy than more than half of the world’s population.
A fact that can’t go unnoticed by the average human being on this planet. The fact that billions of people are suffering from poverty and struggling to survive day after day after day is worrysome enough. Trying to help [...]

Songs to listen to on your way from Amsterdam to Maastricht – Part II

Okay, so this time it was only Eindhoven. No changing the facts. Luka Bloom was performing this song live during the Naked Song Festival where I also got to enjoy Teitur’s magical performance. I rushed to acquire all Luka Bloom CDs I could possibly get and carried this one around in my head for the [...]

An Rauer Küste

Focus on waves so far away
their little whitetops seem like snow
on a mountain top in a far away land
a vision so desperate and cold
but they break so soon and they flow away
it’s what the ocean does to you
when you stare too long and you don’t watch out
you’re getting pulled into the blue
so what have you [...]

Teituresque

Have you ever met a person that made you believe in magic? A particular artist for example, someone whose aura is almost visible and holds you tight, pulling you into a different world? If you haven’t, you might want to attend a Teitur gig. It’s what I did last night. The Naked Song Festival in [...]

Unwetter

Raindrops patter on the roof terrace of Hoogbrugstraat 40
listen closely, they’re telling a story
of the vagrant life they lead, out there in the dark
from heaven to earth, and back again, in cycles
sometimes salty, like tears. Sometimes sour
but always fluid, always water
changing the face of the earth, taking their time
Lightning lights up the dark streets around [...]

Heiligendamm heats up

When the G8 meet, there’s important things to talk about. In two weeks, climate change, development aid and hedge-fund transparency will be on top of the agenda at Heiligendamm, Germany. Huge issues and pressing problems of global scope. If there’s ever been a moment where the world’s misery needed to change, then definitely now that [...]

In the morning, in suits, in a new town…

At 1.22 am, I’m home again, after crossing the Maas river and watching the beautiful black of the flowing water crawling upnorth in direction of Nijmegen, Den Bosch, the North Sea… the view over the river gets me every time, and I can’t help but stop and watch for a couple of minutes… the river [...]

The Uncommented Quote

‘Did you know that bananas can teach you the meaning of life?’
He took out a rotten banana from the bag and threw it away.
‘That is the life that has been and gone, and which was not used to the full and for which it is now too late.’
Then he drew out another banana, which was [...]

Update

Due to Chris Jones on my playlist, I’ve got a new Hintergrund der Stunde.

A train’s tale

I took the train again today. Gifhorn-Hannover-Köln-Aachen-Heerlen-Maastricht. A good 6 hours of diving into a microcosm of German and European society. Where else fill you find the pregnant Turko-German lady sitting next to the yuppie-like T.Com manager, discussing the (un)reliability of the German railroad system and the sense and nonsense of social policy reforms with [...]