September 15, 2009
Archive for September, 2009
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I’ve been traveling
Hello again. It has been a few days since I’ve posted anything here, so I have a fair amount of scatter-brained thoughts and experiences with which to dazzle these interwebs. Over the weekend I ventured back to my great white 10,000 lakes-having former home of Minnesota. The trip was 3-fold. First and foremost, there was this thing happening there that I warned you about called Hay Days, which is a giant snowmobile extravaganza including mini-donuts (yes I did) and grass drags. Secondly, I needed to see my people at the One on One Bicycle Studio for all of five minutes. Lastly, I had to clear a bunch of crap (my possessions) out of the former Enervit America warehouse. This last thing is largely responsible for helping fuel my typing today, because I found a DVD of Social Distortion, which is currently being viewed out of my left eye, and is cranked to 11. Continue Reading »
September 11, 2009
9/11
Yes folks, we have landed on that day once again. I am in a hotel room in Minneapolis, Minnesota and have seen various moments of silence and self-promoting speeches on TV. Perhaps having no TV at home is a good thing. Perhaps I am an ostrich with my head in the sand.
But I know people who suffered on that day - people who were not able to contact their loved ones for hours - people who lost family, friends, neighbors and coworkers.
With that in mind, I will quit pontificating and shut the hell up. I would appreciate it if the self-serving news media and most of jerks we have elected to serve us in the government would do the same.
But I know people who suffered on that day - people who were not able to contact their loved ones for hours - people who lost family, friends, neighbors and coworkers.
With that in mind, I will quit pontificating and shut the hell up. I would appreciate it if the self-serving news media and most of jerks we have elected to serve us in the government would do the same.
September 8, 2009
The pride of Austin, MN
Well folks, I have to apologize for the lack of new reading material, but I think I have a pretty good excuse. In all seriousness, I have been allowing the gerbil who runs in the wheel that powers my brain to rest as much as possible so that I may concentrate on finishing the sequel (if you will) to A Dog in a Hat. As with all small rodents, the gerbil who powers my brain runs for a little while then thinks about food and sleeping. I have been trying to keep him on there longer, but as they say, "A gerbil can't change his stripes." Continue Reading »
September 4, 2009
While we’re on the subject of language, I thought you might like to learn about my first Flemish teacher.
He was a strange being - short, with a big nose, big ears and a bit of a comb-over. He was witty, intelligent and somewhat impatient. Like me, he was a stranger in a friendly land, but unlike me, he did not choose to go there. No like so many others he was “misplaced” from his homeland. Gordon was a great teacher and I would like you to meet him.
Continue Reading »
September 2, 2009
The Dutch people I know say that Flandrians speak Dutch. The Flandrians I know (actually just one) say they speak Flemish. Is that just some international rivalry showing? Or is there more of a language barrier there than exists between, say, the USA and the UK?
James Scott - Canton, Massachusetts
That’s a question that I have actually been called out on by a couple of Belgians. These particular people felt I was slighting their country, or more precisely, the Dutch-speaking people of Belgium. Technically, and according to Belgian law, the language spoken in Flanders is Dutch, or Nederlands not Flemish, or Vlaams. It gets even a bit more interesting when you hear a person refer to what they speak as Flemish and then turn around and ask you if you if you understand Dutch. I was never quite sure if they do this because they own and internalize the Flemish language and think we are unfamiliar, or if it is simply more proper and polite to ask if we speak Dutch.
That’s a question that I have actually been called out on by a couple of Belgians. These particular people felt I was slighting their country, or more precisely, the Dutch-speaking people of Belgium. Technically, and according to Belgian law, the language spoken in Flanders is Dutch, or Nederlands not Flemish, or Vlaams. It gets even a bit more interesting when you hear a person refer to what they speak as Flemish and then turn around and ask you if you if you understand Dutch. I was never quite sure if they do this because they own and internalize the Flemish language and think we are unfamiliar, or if it is simply more proper and polite to ask if we speak Dutch. Continue Reading »
