Coolio

9. DoJ

2007-08-26T15:30:00.000+02:00

A Klansman has been convicted to three lifesentences for the murder of two black teenagers in Mississippi. Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charlie Eddie Moore, both 19, where hitchhiking when they where abducted, beaten, tied up and drowned. This happened in 1964. 72 year old former deputy-sheriff James Ford Seale was finally found guilty after a new witness gave testimony.

This is the third conviction for murder in a case connected to the civil rights struggle that has recently been reopened by the federal Department of Justice. The train crossed wide farmlands as I read this, just at the time Nina Simone started singing on my mp3-player.

Strange Fruit - Nina Simone
(Lewis Allen, Sonny White)

Seven trees
Bearin' strange fruit
Blood on the leaves
And blood at the roots
Black bodies
Swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hangin'
From the poplar trees
Pastoral scene
Of the gallant south
Them big bulging eyes
And the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolia
Clean and fresh
Then the sudden smell
Of burnin' flesh
Here is a fruit
For the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather
For the wind to suck
For the sun to rot
For the leaves to drop
Here is
Strange and bitter crop

6. Henk ten Cate

2007-08-26T11:42:00.000+02:00

I am not a fan of Henk ten Cate. Ajax' head coach has at least as many weaknesses as he has strong points. For one, his actions are not consistent with his words. He claims he does not want to be compared to PSV Eindhoven, while his actions clearly tell another tale. Since Ten Cate has been in charge, Ajax has started to copy PSV in a number of ways. This is significant, especially for people who follow (one of) both clubs with vigor. Yet nobody seems to have noticed this, at least to my knowledge.

After Ajax copied elements of PSV style of play most of last season -agressive, 4-4-2- (sometimes even going overboard, notice the number of yellow cards), their transfer-policy seems to be based on 'it is allright as long as it's striped red & white'. Ajax first team now features four former PSV players (Stam, Rommedahl, Colin, Huntelaar), most of whom 'did not make the cut' in Eindhoven. They made inquiries into the availability of youngsters Aissati and Afellay when they transfered Sneijder to Real Madrid. Furthermore anyone who atracts interest from PSV's scouts, seems to be on Ajax shortlist moments later (Makaay, Luque, Suarez). As Ajax has always had a bigger bankroll, they are succesfull in acquiring them in most cases. Other transfer-targets are well known players from below average teams in the Spanish or Dutch league (Riera, Delorge). Ajax' recent policy is clearly influenced by Henk ten Cate, witness their sudden preference for Spanish players after his arrival from Spain. The policy has brought Ajax some success. They are the second best team in the Netherlands again. This is all a huge compliment to PSV and further sign of their dominant position in Dutch football. Ajax did so however, by selling their soul.

Ajax abandoned their trademark style-of-play, lost the number one position as school for gifted, skilfull players to PSV and seem to have lost the ability to scout an unknown player from less credited leagues. Since these features have been Ajax key drivers for success in the past, their recent policy and achievements seems to be no guarantee for future success.

9. Henk Spaan

2007-08-26T10:35:00.000+02:00

I'm back. Henk Spaan's Saturday column in Dutch newspaper het Parool gave me to urge to pick up writing this blog again. It is by far the best written column to be found in the Dutch press. Frank Kalshoven's a very distant second. It is the only reason I buy the metropolitan newspaper every Saturday. My aversion for anything from Amsterdam is not something I usually try to hide.

In his Spaan geeft punten (Spaan gives grades), Spaan discusses people, developments, public debates, even referees and TV commentators relating to football. The column sharpens the mind, gives insight, is newsworthy, poetic, opinionated and outright funny. It is a pleasure to read, even if you are not into football at all.

Anyway, from now on I will steal his format, aspire to reach his level and try to keep it up a little better.

This is nót my house

2007-01-31T13:37:00.000+01:00

But it is ín my house...

You're welcome to come and check it out.

Adicolor. Green.

2007-01-31T13:22:00.000+01:00

These are my shoes:

and this is the commecial:

And for the ladies, Adicolor Pink:

And I don´t even like Wolfmother..

2007-01-21T00:51:00.000+01:00

I want to be able to write English like this:

'Wolfmother - Wolfmother
With tongues hovering suspiciously near cheeks, the cape-sporting Aussie trio cornered the market in mystical bike-bar rock. As titles such as Witchcraft and White Unicorn suggested, their debut was gloriously unreconstructed, crackling with enough elemental energy to get even the most hardened cynic cranking up their air guitar.'

Album review by Dave Everley; Q, January 2007.

December

2007-01-04T22:16:00.000+01:00

A so/so year ended on a high note. With drinks, diners, some dancing, a great wedding and a fantastic time among friends. Here's an impression..

Brand New..

2006-12-27T14:17:00.000+01:00

Found one again; Wooh Alright Yeah! The Rapture. And these guys sat right across from my old house:

If I have anything to do with it, they'll be playing this song some time after midnight at Tino's little party on Sunday.

Sad Christmas

2006-12-25T15:31:00.000+01:00

When I opened the door at my mother's, I heard James Brown had passed away last night. For a moment I felt really sad. I rate him on a same level as the first djembe players in Africa, Mozart and Depeche Mode. Absolutely one of the most influential musicians of all time. Probably only topped by the King of Pop last century.

Christmas started on a sad note this year.

Thomas & Joris

2006-12-25T15:12:00.000+01:00

Anne and I discussed Joris Luyendijk. She had met him at a debate in Brussels recently on life in the Middle East. I had seen him host the 'Zomergasten' TV-shows this summer. We agreed he is a fascinating person, great to talk with. He is a true journalist in the sense that he just mirrors what he sees and doesn't have strong opinions on things he hasn't seen. That makes him a person you can learn a lot from but maybe not as inspirational as he could be. It reminded me of Thomas Friedman, who hás strong opinions and is very inspirational, but also political. I read his New York Times columns twice a week for about three years and started reading his book again. If you are interested you could listen to him talk on issues such as the internet, terrorism, American leadership, outsourcing and the changing lives of ordinary people everywhere.

Turns out Floor is reading Joris' book as well. Mom has already read him.

Nelson Mandela

2006-12-23T04:55:00.001+01:00

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world."

You

2006-12-18T22:26:00.000+01:00

Oh yeah, I became person of the year. So did You.
Thanx Time, right back at ya!

Tino´s getting married

2006-12-18T19:15:00.000+01:00

We celebrated Tino´s last fortnight as a bachelor on Saturday. He asked me to be one of his masters of ceremony. They marry December 31, so it's gonna be a cracking party.

It was a great day, especially because I won the kart competition, ahead of 15 certified drivers.

An original agenda, please!

2006-12-13T06:58:00.000+01:00

Barack Hussein Obama is the hottest thing in American politics and seems to be a shoe-in for the Democratic presidential nominee. Supposedly even Hillary Clinton, the sure-fire next president of the United States for some six years now, is well advised to back out of the race if Barack decides to run. (It would be progress to see three Great Western Nations -Germany, France & USA- with female leaders, wouldn't it?).

When you've been reading these hyped success-stories for some time it's a bit of a disappointment to see Barack in real life for the first time and learn more about his political views. The same goes for Hillary by the way. It seems to me that the major political challengers of incumbents these days are more preoccupied with basing their views on what spin-doctors tell them they should say according to polls and focus groups, then on a genuine personal political vision. That goes for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Ségolène Royal, David Cameron and Wouter Bos. They carefully choose their standpoints on the war in Iraq, health care reform or democratic improvements listening to what they thínk voters want to hear. There is nothing wrong with listing to the people or with carefully choosing standpoints of course, but it would be nice to see a future political leader with some original political views of her/his own or addressing new important issues. At least John McCain has a campaign reform agenda as a defining characteristic.

Maybe I'm wrong or naive, but I almost long for the days when Bill Clinton and Tony Blair where climbing up the ranks.

Carfreax California

2006-12-12T17:47:00.000+01:00

My old buddy Mattijs landed at LAX for the second time this year to do some private/professional carspotting and design(research). In our high school years he was already designing the cars of today. Yesterday he designed the interior of the Q7 (see right). Today he's designing the Audi you'll hopefully own in five years (see left).

On his blog he keeps us posted on everyday mobile-life in California.

Turns out he's a pretty solid celebrity spotter as well. I like to think of myself as a pretty good one too, but my Chris Zegers doesn't compare to his Laurence Fishburn or his flight with Herbie Hancock. I'll be following you Mattie..

WOW~what a terrific audience

2006-12-10T20:53:00.000+01:00

Vince and I just watched Chelsea-Arsenal in the Mick 'o' Connels pub. The Africans, who where there in large numbers, cheered for all African players, such as Eboue, Djourou, Makalele, Drogba and especially Adebayor. When Arsenal scored some of them celebrated by diving on the floor. WOW~what a terrific audience! English football is not always good but always spectacular and a terrific past-time.
We imagined life in London, going to football-matches on Sunday, going on musical tours and returning to 'significant others' waiting for us in the hotel room.

Junk mail

2006-12-09T00:21:00.000+01:00

When your working hours are filled with questions relating to introducing market forces in the (long term) care sector (a free market, auctions or yardstick competition?) or figuring out the optimal level of product transparency for consumers in health care markets, you get junk mail like this:
------------
Friday, December 08, 2006 3:40:36 PM
Paardenkooper-Suli, Klara
To:

Subject:
Privatisation and Regulation Symposium - Call for Papers
CALL FOR PAPERS

Symposium EAEPE and PRESOM / EU on

Privatisation and Regulation
On the co-evolution of Technology, Policy and Institutions.

Date: 22 and 23 March 2007
Place: Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Deadline abstracts (500 words): 15 January 2007
Submissions to: John Groenewegen

Fee: 100 € (including registration, lunches, coffee and tea)
Detailed information: www.eaepe.org and www.presom.eu
Theme:
Transactions in infrastructures used to be centrally coordinated by ministries and vertically integrated state owned firms. Liberalisation and privatisation created markets and fundamentally changed the modes of governance of the transactions with the aim to increase efficiency. When firms are privatised in network sectors like energy, telecom, water, public transport, and the like, regulation is introduced in order to safeguard the public interest (universal service, affordable prices, etc.)
Central questions:
What has been the performance of the network sectors after the liberalisation and privatisation with respect to the technological integrity of the systems (unbundling and segmentation have implications for the technological performance of the system), the economics (the allocative as well as the dynamic efficiencies) and last but not least the social impact (universal service, security of supply, labour conditions)?
Abstracts are invited not only on the traditional sectors of telecom, energy and public transport, but also on water, social security, financial markets and education.
-------

Sounds intellectual doesn't it?

Yo Vince!

2006-12-08T21:24:00.000+01:00

The Infadels are in town tonight! Well they are in Amsterdam at least. It´s a free concert in the Westergasfabriek on account of the FIFA 07 interactive world cup. Gaming turns out to be good for something.

I noticed this downloading ´A Love Supreme´, Paolo Conte, Dwele, Harry Connick Jr., this beer song and Burt Bacharach & Elvis Costello for Tino & Jac's wedding reception. So you know it will be a smooth and joyful occasion.

(Does anyone know how to link to a song and avoid using youtube all the time?)

Do YOU know 'm?

2006-12-06T21:48:00.000+01:00

So it's been a while. Been losing elections, working hard, exercising the knee. Same old, same old. But I díd discover something! Why aren't these guys world famous? Stupid low-budget video, great music. Their from Sweden. As are Peter, Björn & John. But you knew them.

Choose Mark, for instance

2006-11-20T21:49:00.000+01:00

Wednesday is election-day. I know we have a leader with a credibility problem. On two or three instances the party made political mistakes with childish motives during the last government-term. We've been hardly visible during the campaign. I know 'choose liberal' is not the strongest campaign-slogan. And some people may even find the slogan 'actually you are a democrat' offensive or laughable.

But don't you think it's unfair the Christian Democrats get free votes free-riding on the ideas and courage of the two other parties in the administration? Don't you think it's a sign of poverty we already know who will be the next Prime Minister even though he's proven himself to be a highly ineffective leader? Why should two conservative parties be the winners of this election? Is there really no more progress to be made in this country? Do you think it is time for calm and quiet? Do you feel confident and secure with a leader of the nation who says we don't have to reform or make progress the next four years? What does a standstill usually mean in this globalised economy? Is there really no alternative for Donner?

Choose investments in education. Choose nature. Choose accountability. Choose a wise immigration policy. Choose sensible market policy. Choose change. Choose progress. Choose openness. Choose courage. Choose democracy. Choose equal opportunities for women. Choose hope.

And if not Mark, choose Kajsa, Boris or John.

Paradise

2006-11-19T11:14:00.000+01:00

Oh yeah, The Killers where absolutely great. I was there with Vince (thanx again buddy) and Cornelie and, among others, Dutch band Kane. We found out half an hour before the show the singer is just 25. As you can see, it didn't ruin our fun.

(© OOR)

But I do think someone should look into the state of the floor-construction in Paradiso. I saw and felt it will not last an entire concert season without constructional improvements...

Unsportsman-like conduct

2006-11-19T09:57:00.000+01:00

Last week PSV beat Ajax fairly easy. As you can see, PSV created three chances, as did Ajax. As PSV played there worst game since two months, Ajax where the better side. Ajax-coach Henk ten Cate proved to be a sore loser when he kept on criticizing PSV's game throughout the week. According to him PSV set the tone in Dutch football with their ugly, defensive but effective style of play: "When I left Holland for Barcelona three years ago I called PSV a boring team. Now, it's the new standard. I don't want to be compared with that." Looks like coach Ten Cate is settling in very well with the arrogant narrow-minded tradition in Amsterdam.

He is right when he says PSV set the standard in Dutch football. They are going on their sixth championship in eight years. But he's not right when he says PSV play a boring, defensive style. Facts don't lie: PSV have scored 35 times this season, compared to ajax' 29. Maybe this post should've been named The Emperors' Cloths pt. II...

I will attend ajax's game against FC Twente this afternoon, with Jur, Vince and Rog. It will be my third visit to Amsterdam in four days, after The Killers on Thursday and the regulators on Friday. Am I changing?

We Never Die!

2006-11-16T14:55:00.000+01:00

Well, until we do we'll be sitting on Jelly's couch sipping great wine (thanx boss) and trying not to smoke (to much) every week. When one of us does go, the other two will commemorate him in similar fashion:

We expressed disgust and joy on the coming election victory of the two conservative parties the Christian Democrats and the Socialist Party. As a progressive liberal you can guess my sentiments. Besides that we spoke about ever important issues such as the disastrous policy of our national football coach (dare not speak his name!) and the formidable state of high-class comedy on Dutch television.

Vince gave me his last ticket to The Killers' beforehand legendary concert in Paradiso tonight. Thanx buddy, please accept this great wine as a token of my gratitude:

and thank you Mini-Me, as well..

Broke my promise..

2006-11-14T22:51:00.000+01:00

Just to stick it to my boss.

Insider/outsider

2006-11-13T12:52:00.000+01:00

A great paradigm in political thought is the insiders-outsiders dilemma. It's a useful way of analyzing such different things as immigration policy, international trade policy, the labor market (including the cost and benefits of permanent employment contracts), but also antitrust policy and the reform of health-care markets. The latter keeps me busy these days. The insights this paradigm offers form a big part of my political views.

The lessons are: eliminate barriers to entry and thou shall prosper. This requires resisting the lobby of incumbents and vested interests. This takes courage most politicians or even bureaucrats lack. We´re gonna try it in the pharmaceuticals markets and the long-term care sector. If we succeed it will be a policy-achievement of historic proportions (well, in the Netherlands at least).

Naturally Peter beat me to it. After all, he is an experienced blogger:
"In academics it sometimes seems that you must be moving towards your pension to be able to make a dissenting opinion that matters. While it is debated in the streets and in the international institutions; in the Dutch universities a macroeconomic analysis of the insiders-outsiders dilemma on a world scale is largly absent. Whereas this is in fact the core of the development challenge, which is a question of income-distribution. That focus provides binding reasons for trade liberalisation in sectors where the have's often have something to lose, but there's a world to win ."

Johnny

2006-11-12T02:55:00.000+01:00

I´ll try and make it two posts without youtube hyperlinks. But in this post I´ll still share this beauty.

Killer

2006-11-12T02:04:00.000+01:00

We all agreed the lead singer can´t sing. When he starts screaming it´s even better. Vince and his girl are going to see them thursday. Goes without saying I envy them. Vince and I also agree this is their best song.

Brillant

2006-11-12T02:00:00.000+01:00

This is so life-like it's scary!
Scary funny...

The emperor's clothes pt. I

2006-11-04T10:27:00.000+01:00

One thing I like about sports is that it can show you ways in which society works. A Belgian footballcoach once said: "in the Netherlands it doesn't matter what you say, it matters who says it". That cultural characteristic puts some people above criticism in this country. But that's the topic of a coming post. It is also a factor in the fabrication of certain untrue ideas or images that take hold in society which can be very persisting. I find this fascinating. I'm only slightly exaggerating when I say this is an indication of the way consent is manufactured.

The last three years there have been two clubs that dominate the highest Dutch footballleague (you'll find out which one has my support soon enough). For some time the commonly accepted obstinate idea among the footballfriendly was that AZ is the club that plays a fresh, attacking and most of all young team. They are the club with a succesfull future ahead of them. PSV on the contrary are a mature team who play a solid game and have done so for some years. Fact is that the average age of the team AZ played in their most recent eredivisie match was 26,5, while PSV's was 25,3. PSV's head-to-head record against AZ is 5-1-0 17-5 in the last three years. AZ have been the team of the future for some time now according to pundits, press and a large part of the public. Certain ideas are hard to beat.

These are the kinds of highly interesting topics I discuss with Julio, as I did yesterday in Amsterdam on invitation of my friends at the AFM.

Utrecht never dies!

2006-11-01T13:44:00.000+01:00

That senseless title is the name of a new tradition. What we mean by it? Hardcore Caymans stick. We'll have weekly dinners/non-smoking challenges and invoke the jealousy of our departed fellow amphibians. The topics of discussion include old dragons, great music and a brother gone astray. Thank you Mini-Me.

Boasting

2006-10-31T17:33:00.000+01:00

Congratulations, Michiel!Your IQ score is 136

This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others. Your Intellectual Type is Visionary Philosopher. This means you are highly intelligent and have a powerful mix of skills and insight that can be applied in a variety of different ways. Like Plato, your exceptional math and verbal skills make you very adept at explaining things to others — and at anticipating and predicting patterns. And that's just some of what we know about you from your IQ results.

If you have ten minutes to spare...I'd like to see you do it better...

This is it, what!

2006-10-30T21:39:00.000+01:00

Turns out this song was released in 1997. Damn, thought it was brand new. Maybe because Boris nicked it for 'Within my Hands', also a good song. Sapsite, whatever the hell that is, calls it Busta Rhymes meets Tribe Called Quest meets Digable Planets. Well that's two greats. I think it's fine, and it's brand new to me: Camp Lo; 'Luchini'. Enjoy.

The book is out

2006-10-30T21:13:00.000+01:00

Multitalent Peter wasn't happy with me. The painter/poet/rebel with/without a cause/economist was right, offcourse. I should have done more and done it faster for our book to get published. Could have probably been a bit more critical of the last chapter and maybe'd been more influentual in setting the course for the NMa's Economic Bureau. Or is that overstating my influence? Oh well, Peter and I did add a title to our ever growing resume. In Dutch there is a saying about a mouse and an elephant...

Read Peter.

Almost home

2006-10-29T16:08:00.001+01:00

This is it. My new house! Bought last week. Near the Biltstraat in Utrecht. Yesterday the architectural inspector's report came in. A few investments will be necessary in the coming years, although the building is in good condition given it's age (106 years). Let's see if I can negiotiate an even better deal this week and if they can revive the currently sleeping owners assiociation. The mortage deal looks just right but it goes without saying I'm more preoccupied with perfecting and filling this palace with new furniture and much needed extra's. Can't wait to plug in some new speakers and finally listen to my music in a real airfilled room. Privately owned.