NOS Journaal voor laag opgeleiden

Is dit de manier om de kenniskloof te overbruggen?

Naast het alledaagse NOS journaal en het Journaal op 3 overweegt de NOS nu een speciaal journaal voor laag opgeleiden uit te zenden. De vraag is waar de grens precies ligt tussen mensen die de berichten van het NOS journaal niet begrijpen en mensen die er niet geïnteresseerd in zijn.

Tot in hoeverre moeten de media burgers dwingen om politieke kennis op te doen?

Is het jeugdjournaal niet informatief genoeg?

Time for a change

Since this blog hasn't been used for a year or so, it is time for a change.

Not just a change.

Another title, another into, another picture, another background, another style and sometimes even... another language!

The campaigns for the national elections of the Netherlands started off last week. So beware for some inside info, tips and tricks!

Voor iedereen die 'door de borden het bos niet meer ziet'... (Flickr.com)

Una pelota guatemalteca

"Eres una pelota.."

It was the first thing she said when she touched my hand.

The old lady missed her front teeth and couldn't walk properly anymore. I don't know if it was the dark and cold living room that gave me this weird feeling, or just the fact that I was visiting a shamman in Guatemala that touched my hand and said right away: "you are just like a ball, bouncing on the earth".

I've always tried to avoid spiritual ways of thinking that could not fit into my perspective on the world. It may sound like 'taking the easy way out', and actually, it is.

Just the first sentence of this shamman, touched my soul so deeply that I don't even know what to think about it.

Half a year before the moment the shamman touched my hand I just got back from the United States. My friends asked me if I wanted to go and travel again. Of course I wanted that, but not at that very moment because 'I didn't want to become a bouncing ball that never stands still'.

Maybe I should keep bouncing, the world might look differently from up there..

How entertaining is it actually?

Looking at it a year after dedicating this name to my blog, how entertaining is life actually?

I am now forcing myself to come up with at least one aspect of life that is 'entertaining'.

First problem; what is entertaining again? God, I really need to get back to Austin and get my ass into those soft office-like chairs again, to listen to Michael Barnes, explaining me what 'entertainment journalism' is again.

How I wish I could go back to those good old days, wondering around in my sunny outfit on the campus of St. Edward's University, just wondering why I turned out to be the Dutch student studying at this wonderful campus full of nice people, blue skys, interesting classes, parties, roommates and above all; blogwriting.

Sounds pretty entertaining..

Make me write

Time for a change, time for a new template, time for new blogs!
I should be ashamed for not writing anything on my blog since the moment my plane took off. I left Austin, TX, with this really satisfied feeling: I wrote, wrote and wrote. I developed writing skills and I used to be inspired to play with my computer keyboard every single day. The feeling of 'having to write' makes it - at least for some people - much more difficult to write. I used to think I was part of that group. Though, now that I got back to the Netherlands I haven't been writing anything since I don't 'have to' anymore. So please, make me write. Read my blog, offer some challenging comments that will make me 'having to write'!

Dutch music in Austin part II: Driving with 'Guus Meeuwis'

The first day I arrived in Austin I got to know a Dutch man that lives in Austin. Actually, he turned out to be a far cousin. He and his wife are very warm and hospitable and they made me feel like home immediately.
Last week I was allowed to use his car for a couple of days, just to be able to visit some things I couldn't go to without having a car. Without thinking I turned on the music and guess what I heard. "Er is een nacht, die je normaal alleen in films ziet.." ("Some nights only exist in movies..") by Guus Meeuwis. I laughed so bad, that my friend sitting next to me had to tell me we had to turn right.
Normally, I hate this song, and not just a little, I deeply hate it. You know those clubs, where everybody is throwing beer at each other and is singing odd songs? This is one of those songs, those typically, stupid, easy songs.
Though, hearing the song made me laugh. It made me realize how good it is to be somewhere else and to be able to laugh about things from your own country without missing them or without getting sad.

Please laugh about this movie and realize, if you ever want to go to Holland, avoid this.

Dutch music in Austin part I: Blof -- Oktober

Dutch music was never my favourite. The language has so many rough sounds that I just couldn't call it romantic.

Though, since I live in the United States I start to appreciate it more, it is one of the few ways through which I can hear my own language.

Blof is a band containing of four men; a singer, a bass, an electic guitar player and a keyboard player. Originally they all come from the same island in the south of The Netherlands, the same island as where I was born. Since my mom is really fascinated by their music, I started to listen to it when I was pretty young.

Blof produced a lot of albums, which are all very different but create the same atmosphere. They have a duet with the American band 'The Counting Crows' called 'Holiday in Spain' and they recorded a cd full of duets with people from every continent called 'Umoja'. Blof is going international but they stay local at the same time by recording songs about the island, the beach and the sea; their home.

Their last album is called Oktober, and released, yes, last October. Since my mom visited me in Austin at that time she gave me the album. Blof is planning on releasing another album in spring '09. 'Oktober' is a slow album with a lot of deep and thoughtfull texts, the perfect background album for serious conversations but also very relaxing. Although the music is repetitive, the lyrics are creative, sometimes even incomprehensible.

My favourite song of the album is called 'Eilanden' ('Islands').

It says:

"Eilanden in oceanen zijn lang niet zo eenzaam als wij,

Eilanden komen weer samen, als de zeebodem breekt en verschuift,

Laat me niet morgen pas lachen, maar vandaag."

" Islands in oceans are not that lonesome,

Islands come together, as soon as the bottom of the sea breaks and moves.

Let's not wait until tomorrow, I want to laugh today."

Since I am leaving in eight days, I apply texts of every song I hear to my stay here. It may sound kinda sentimental, but that is actually how I feel about leaving.

'Eilanden' can be interpreted on both a small and large scale. Different islands in The Netherlands, but also, different islands on Earth, different parts of the world. They will come together.

"Let's not wait until tomorrow, I want to laugh today." Yes, I am going to enjoy my last days to their full extend.

Here you find short a video from Blof performing 'Eilanden'.