Original thought

Making notes for this entry I am on my way to Budapest. There are two guys and a girl sitting just in front of me on the plane. They are early to middle twenties, dressed for business, speaking what is probably Hungarian although I can't recognize. (Hungarian is one of those languages, like Finnish, whose speakers I always suspect of making it up as they go along. Funny lingo.) One guy is across the aisle from me and his companions and he is animatedly and proudly showing his videos and powerpoint presentations on his laptop. I have a good view of his screen.

Oh gods.

Even though the presentation is in English, I have no idea what he is talking about. There are vague business terms thrown around like litter in there. Never a good sign.

Visibility Strategy!

Business Discipline!

Priority Flipcharts! (Just the mention of them, not the actual charts - luckily probably.)

Competitive Refinancing!

This is not a presentation I would go and see, or at least not until the end I'm sure. I suppose you can't blame young people for wanting to connect with the business community and trying to master the language that seems to go with it. And let's just say that this guy at least is still striving for proficiency.

What I find more appalling is that he is using pictures to illustrate or emphasize or whatever the things that he is trying to convey to his audience. So far I have seen images, presumably plucked off the internet somewhere, that do not do much for the professionalism of his presentation.

A picture of Einstein in the sideline with "Explanation".

Flexed biceps are to tell us about "Strenghts".

Oh yes, "Conflict Model" shows rugby players.

A puzzled monkey face accompanies "Questions?"

No, no questions.

In the picture: a wine bottle in the shape of a bull. I took this photo in the Hungarian market. The 'bottle' is a hideous creation but, hey, at least it's original. ;-)

PS Oh and by the way: the Dutch Cabinet has indeed fallen. We will be having national elections again probably in May already. Gah.

Mmm...

Dinner was GOOD! And that's all for today, folks! :-)

Politics? Huh?

Oh dear. Just yesterday I was posting about my surrender to pregnancy subjects on this blog. And this morning I realised that what I was thinking about was not kiddies. It was politics.

The Netherlands is (are?) approaching local elections: cities, towns, municipalities. The whole affair is overshadowed, however, by international politics. The current cabinet is a coalition of three parties and one of them is sticking to its guns - much to the annoyance of the other two. They're blaming the one dissident of abusing the occassion of the elections for its own gain.

Probably. (Isn't that what all parties do?) But there seems to be more to it than that.

The whole affair is about the Dutch mission in Afghanistan. It was agreed upon at the start of the coalition that the mission would end in August 2010, at the instigation of the one party (PvdA). Now the other two are plain refusing to stick with the agreement and want the Dutch to stay in Uruzgan. Why? Because NATO has sent an official request that the Dutch stay. And typically the Dutch are hesitant (shall we say scared?) to oppose anything the Big Boys are saying. Like the best boy in the classroom, we're usually more than willing to oblige. Now PvdA is refusing to do so.

The rhetoric from the government leaders especially is striking. The leaders of the other two parties, CDA and CU, act very surprised and annoyed that PvdA is refusing to cooperate. They're acting like they are the grown-ups and PvdA is a kid that refuses to cooperate. Little brat. Granted, the PvdA's actions have not been impeccable in this issue (at all) but since the agreement was part of the coalition from the start they can hardly be really surprised. It sounds to me like they're just disappointed. They were expecting the PvdA to swallow. Instead it spits.

Please mind that the above is a very simplified representation of the issues involved. I can´t say I´m an expert or even that I followed the affair from head to tail. Where it relates to me is here: upcoming elections and I have no idea what to vote! I always vote. Always. But these past years it has become more difficult each time to find a party or program that I feel really comfortable with.

And if the Cabinet were to fall over the Afghanistan issue, we'd have to have another round of elections but this time for the national government. Then I would really not know what to vote! Will that be the first time my vote will be 'blanco'?

Surrender

Oh how determined I was not to let my pregnancy invade this blog too much. Of course I was setting myself up for failure. This blog is supposed to be about my travels and other types of journeys and this thing that is happening to me now may be one of the most intense journeys of my life. Even more so than Zion? Even more so than Japan? Even more so than the journeys one makes in the subconscious; meeting the trickster who I am sure played a role in this situation I am in now. (Not that I am complaining!)

And so I surrender. There will be posts about this growing tummy of mine on this blog. Just as there will be posts about related subjects such as people posting their kids' pictures as their own avatars (what's up with that?), terminologies that seem to be designed to make any future parent as confused as possible (why 'hydrofielluier'? why?), future logistics (two times more kiddie, two times more planning?), clothes (do I really need a whole new garderobe for this spring?), etc.

I guess my real qualm about writing all these things is that I somehow don't feel quite at home in them. I have been avoiding all things 'babby' for so many years now, sometimes actively taking a detour and all that, that it now feels incredibly strange to have to immerse myself in the whole affair. It feels a little like betrayal. I used to find it difficult to listen to other people ranting and raving about their pregnancies and kiddies, therefore now I find it difficult to do the same... Yet, at the same time it is an undeniable part of my life. Better get used to it.

EDIT - Oh wait: I am currently 15 weeks along, out of 40.

Hope for spring eternal

Snow. Again, snow. Everything white, everything cold. People falling off their bikes, people shuffling on their feet. I'm tired of it. I don't like cold. I don't like snow. I don't like Winter. I am not one of those people who say "I don't mind the cold as long as it is clear" - I do not mind the rain as long as it is warm.

And so, despite the photographic opportunities that this monochrome world of snowsnowsnow is offering - could we have Spring please?
Oh, who am I asking?

Life and death, film-wise

(Although I realise that (nearly) nobody actually reads this blog, I decided not to mind. Hope that whoever stumbles across it, will enjoy it.)

Catching up on my films. This week, two films.
First, A Serious Man by the Coen brothers.
Second, Shaun of the Dead by, um, Edgar Wright. (Okay, I had to look that up.)

Both very much man-films. And very, very different from each other but I knew that in advance.

Coen brothers are usually instant hits for me. I could rave now about Lebowski but I won't. However much I love that flick, my first impression of Coen films came from Fargo. I instantly fell in love with that one - the dialogues, the imagery, the way the persona were portrayed and especially how they all connected and interacted. The superb way the Coens handle these elements is something I recognize in all of their films I have seen since.

And then came A Serious Man.

I have to admit: I need to get used to it. Leaving aside the constant feeling of 'what has that poor man done to deserve this?' which actually enhanced the viewing pleasure in a strange way, I just felt a little lost. Just like poor Larry I suppose. Some of the dialogues were again brilliant, with the silences held by the actors in just the right places and especially for the right lengths of time.

Just like many other Coens films A Serious Man is a bit of a road movie of a kind. Please mind that I am stretching the term 'road movie' enormously here... I mean that the characters start off somewhere and then a current of events and coincidences and decisions (usually by other people) takes them along and all they can do is try to keep their head above water. (Maybe the term should be 'river movie'?) We saw that in Lebowski, Fargo, Burn after Reading and obviously in Oh Brother.

The aforementioned Coens elements are there in A Serious Man and it is, again, a 'river movie'. I have no doubt that in time I will learn to love this one too.

As for Shaun - ah, I was so very often told to see it. I never wanted to because I don't like films about undead and I especially hate films that make me jump. This week for some reason I just thought something along the lines of 'oh what the heck' and watched it. I enjoyed myself immensely. It has a perfect balance of originality and predictiveness in one carefully dosed package of excitement and tongue-in-cheek. With some very gratifying shots and twists. For example, you hope Wanker Davs is not going to make it through the film - and he doesn't. Hurray! Possibly the first time ever I cheered a disembowelment. Never too old to learn, eh?

Any final words?

You may find it strange that I'm making an entry about funereal matters when only a day ago I announced my pregnancy. Or maybe it is not so strange; life, death, rites of passage?

Maybe it is my background as an ethnomusicologist but I am usually fascinated with the choice of music at funerals. This is why at regular intervals I make up my own list of music I would like to have played at my funeral. Not that I will be there to enjoy it but it would be nice to add a little bit of my own personality to the cold, marble, formal-dress atmosphere of the rite. And so I end up making mental notes of songs and musics that I enjoy and that I think would be appropriate for the occassion. Some things are of consideration for me.

Firstly, I don't go for shocking or provocative songs and works. I am not much of a shocker during my lifetime, I won't be after I'm gone.
Secondly, no puffed up self-images for me. I'm not going to have Born to be Wild or I did it my way because, frankly, I was not born to be any type except me, and I have no other way than my way anyway.
Thirdly, I believe that music has power. Over the atmosphere, over emotions, over people basically. This means that it can change people's behaviour or enhance it. However, I also believe that this is true to a degree - it works best if it takes into account the current state of mind of the audience as well as the intended mood. Ergo: don't play overly happy songs at sad people because chances are it won't make them happy. Not really. Hence, Always look on the bright side of life is out of the question for me.
Fourthly, I would like the music to reflect the things I appreciated. Seems like an obvious one - it probably is.
Fifthly, one needs to take the overall program into account. Too often one hears a scramble of songs or pieces that are nice enough on their own but when put together they just don't work. There is an art to concert programming and although I do not master that art I do care about how it all fits together. A good program, like a good story, should take the listener along from beginning to end. Especially at a funeral there needs to be a sense of "this is it: the end" for the listeners.

Currently the following works/songs/pieces are on the list. The only trouble I have with them is that the overall program does not fit as well as I would like. The Monteverdi definitely stands out. I have been in love with this piece ever since I first heard it at repertoire class at university. The rendition in the video is not nearly as good as the one by the Royal Opera in Amsterdam (with two women!) but it is the best I could find for you to listen to.

(Please note: the videos accompanying the music are not important. I just picked these videos because of the songs!)



Duet between Nero (Nerone) and Poppea, lovers. Poppea is trying to convince Nerone to stay with her after the night.
I don't really care for the baroque stage setting and costumes in this version. Better close your eyes while you listen. ;)



There is something about Angelique Kidjo's voice that makes me shiver. It is incredibly powerful and versatile. This is a Serge Gainsbourg song and she does it so well.
Haiti earthquake - not a connection I made but okay.



Let's go dancing! There is always an afterwards.
Comics?