Yesterday, I had a go at television. Very short recap: I don’t like what’s on offer very much. There have always been exceptions, of course. A medium that has given us both Blackadder and QI can’t be all bad. Of course, what binds both those programmes is the benevolent genius of Stephen Fry. He’s one of those sparse arguments in favour of Western civilisation – or what’s left of it. Which ain’t all that much. For every Stephen Fry – or for every great ... Read Full Story

Now, I haven’t owned a TV set for the last ten years or so but this article still had me smile a bit: “Sony aims to finally meet its cherished profitability target in three years by staking a claim in the growing market for next-generation 3D televisions and lithium-ion batteries, the company said today.” I wish them luck with the lithium-ion batteries, whatever these are precisely but I do have my doubts about those Tvs. I’m not the only one who’s no longer... Read Full Story

While it is true that I love the language of Shakespeare above all others, I have to admit that the French language is quite beautiful as well. Granted, compared to my Dutch mother tongue any other language becomes the oral equivalent of Angelina Jolie in a wet T-shirt competition but anyone who ever listened to Jacques Brel’s ‘Ne me quitte pas’ will probably agree that the French language can do pretty pretty damn well. It’s not the easiest language to master, of co... Read Full Story

I’m back in Prague – and I can inform anyone who cares about these things that the neighbourhood pubs are still going strong. I’m getting too old for this pub crawling game. Meaning that I’m not in the mood to read (and comment on) any newspapers today. So, here are some links to a few other old stories, if you feel the need to spend some more time at this blog today. I really need to go and spend some quality time in the shower house. Enjoy: 1) Setting fire to dicks 2) Ge... Read Full Story

I’ll be on the road for most of today, so I won’t be reading (and commenting on) any newspapers. Those in serious (if somewhat dubious) need of  looking at the world through my ever rantful beholder’s eyes, could read some old columns instead. They could do so at random – or follow the following few pre-selected links: 1) Reading the Ann Summers sex chain catalogue 2) Why men never look at a woman’s tits 3) The condom war continues 4) Little green men with little gree... Read Full Story

Remember that old Doris Day song? Yes, that’s the one: “When 9/11 was just a normal date we asked our leaders, what will we be Will we sit pretty, will we be rich Here’s what they said to us. Que Sera, Sera, Whatever will be, will be but we will fuck things up, you’ll see Que Sera, Sera What will be, will be.” Or, as the fat man sang, “We shall fuck things up on the seas and oceans, we shall fuck things up with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall f... Read Full Story

So, as always, we’ve got Afghanistan Blair for (EU) president China rampaging through Africa… … in other words, the usual ABC of grief & bother, that I could, no doubt, in a few minutes or so, flesh out into a whole A to Z of horrible headlines… … and there are always stories like this – which are funny in the way pointing at cauldrons filled with slowly boiling frogs and going HA-HA-HA is quite hilarious: “Police and neighbourhood watch organisers in one ar... Read Full Story

Right now I’m (taking a short break from) listening to an interview with David Mitchell - writer of ‘Cloud Atlas’ and other most intriguing books. He’s one of those rare examples of a lyrical and intellectual writer, who can touch you on a intuitive and cerebral level at the same time. It’s an Agony Column interview, taken by the master himself, Rick Kleffel. I will give you the links to the two-part interview directly below this paragraph - and you should liste... Read Full Story

(Siegfried Loraine Sassoon; 8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) Ah, this is good: “The first ever online collection of the manuscripts, photos and letters of Siegfried Sassoon, launched this Armistice day, focuses on his war poetry.” Not just good because Sassoon is now perhaps most famous for his ‘declaration against the war’, which he wrote in April 1917 in England, during his recovery from a sniper wound: “I believe that this war, on which I entered as a war of defence ... Read Full Story

(Today they settled all classical business…) Sometimes, people who know that I’m a fully paid up member of the tulip smoking tribe ask me why I don’t carry more Dutch stories here, on this blog. Well, that’s because, most of the time, we have such boring news. We just don’t have too many of the following types of stories – this one a very neat twist on that old schoolboys’ innocent plea, “A big boy did it and ran away…” “A jury on Friday convicted a ... Read Full Story