Busy weekend!

With friends in town, there's a lot to talk about ;)

What if christmas was different this year?

I'm not sure it will be with the shooting at the Toys r us store and the poor guy getting trampled at Walmart :( At least I had no part in this Black Friday :)

Thanksgiving

Sinterklaas new style :)

So I guess immigration is having an effect in Holland :)

So why is being a bird brain a bad thing?

I'm not sure what they were fighting about.. but the chickens wanted to stop it :)



Chickens are pretty cute :)



Of course, it sucks to be a Turkey this time a year :( This video is so disturbing, I just had to post it.. reaffirms my veggie and political beliefs :)

Here's more Daily Show from this week :)

It's always good to get a funny take on the news :)

Look like there's sneeuw in Utrecht :(

And I was complaining about our rain until I saw this :) Snow is pretty, but way too cold! brrrr! This looks and sounds a little like my Turkish neighborhood :)



I should've gone to the Escher celebration in July when my mom was visiting... I thought I saw a lot but there was so many things I missed :( It's been 3 months since I left and I still think about the Nederlands and it's people everyday ;)



however, I have to say it was very hard being in a country where you have no idea what people are saying most of the time :(

Wouldn't it be nice....

Origin of life found from 50-year-old samples

Here's the article



So mom.. you should check to see what is in Art Lew's or Gersch's stuff.. it could be an important discovery :)

There is too much stuff :(

The Story of Stuff from UTOPIA AG on Vimeo.

memories...

Obama on religion

Click here for an interesting interview on how Barack Obama views religion..

"I retain from my childhood and my experiences growing up a suspicion of dogma. And I'm not somebody who is always comfortable with language that implies I've got a monopoly on the truth, or that my faith is automatically transferable to others.

I'm a big believer in tolerance. I think that religion at it's best comes with a big dose of doubt. I'm suspicious of too much certainty in the pursuit of understanding just because I think people are limited in their understanding.

I think that, particularly as somebody who's now in the public realm and is a student of what brings people together and what drives them apart, there's an enormous amount of damage done around the world in the name of religion and certainty."

Sinterklaas in Utrecht :)

So I guess he hangs around asking children what they want.. sort of like Santa at the mall :)

Saw another Green Flash tonight :)

Not sure if the vog had anything to do with it being so slow and green :)

Attention people of RIVM! Whale TB research can be done!

Here's a link to the researchers that are using remote control helicopters to get the spray from the blowhole... and we were so joking that this could be a great reason the TB researchers could come to Hawaii! I'll start writing the grant :)

The Mac Air can detect earthquakes :D

And I got it over one with more speed and size because I liked the idea that it could tell it was falling and put itself into a safe mode :) I still miss my old disk that I dropped and killed.. my bad :(



Of course, now I want an iPhone :D



Hey Matt.. if this guy calls tech support, turn him in ;)



uh, is this why the iPhone is so popular?

Will there really be change in the world?

Some funny facts about our new Prez ;)



At least were done with the "Monster years" :) From Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman

"Last night wasn’t just a victory for tolerance; it wasn’t just a mandate for progressive change; it was also, I hope, the end of the monster years.

What I mean by that is that for the past 14 years America’s political life has been largely dominated by, well, monsters. Monsters like Tom DeLay, who suggested that the shootings at Columbine happened because schools teach students the theory of evolution. Monsters like Karl Rove, who declared that liberals wanted to offer “therapy and understanding” to terrorists. Monsters like Dick Cheney, who saw 9/11 as an opportunity to start torturing people.

And in our national discourse, we pretended that these monsters were reasonable, respectable people. To point out that the monsters were, in fact, monsters, was “shrill.”

Four years ago it seemed as if the monsters would dominate American politics for a long time to come. But for now, at least, they’ve been banished to the wilderness."

We need to remember our Veterans

The war in Iraq was totally a mistake and our troops are paying for with their lives and their wallets.. It's just sad the people who don't make the personal sacrifice are making the decisions based on the oil money and control of a region at the expense of so many lives, including innocent Iraqis :(



It's good to know that the troops are paying attention, now that their lives depend on it :( I guess in 2004 people were still being naive/optimistic even though things had been going badly since the beginning :( Not only did Obama get six times more donations from troops serving overseas, he also go the enlisted vote :)

Elvis, one of the few celebrity veterans :)

Too bad we don't put down the weapons and do it old school :)

Sonata Arctica in Utrecht last week? Who knew :)

Sinterklaas is coming :)

So my Dutch friends told me they are preparing for Sinterklaas.. like Santa, but not really :) The blackface helpers are dirty from chimney soot, they say.. but their clothes are quite clean.. very strange custom in this PC age :)



So here is David Sedaris explaining an American take on the Dutch Holiday :)

More political funnies

Ok.. I know I said I'd lighten up on the political stuff.. but some are just so good I can't help it..



and of course it's good to Think Different!



Here's the original Apple ad

Dad, here's the wave power generators :)

Try to make it through the emo environmental stuff :)



I like the dolphin fin style myself.. I'll just be careful when diving :)



and the crazy sea snake plan



Here's the Portuguese newest installation (it kinda looks like a sausage, huh :)

Happy Birthday Matt!

I hope you're having fun with mom.. sorry I forgot to give her your present.. it's just silly local shirts again ;) It's probably too cold to wear them anyway! Here's a stupid video you might find funny (or not! :)

GWAR took out Bush early..

When a metal band from Virginia doesn't like Bush a year ago.. enough to cut his head off on tour, as they have done with plenty of other public figures :( I guess it's all part of being Lords of the Underworld and shocking people.. they do have one of the coolest websites (although morbid).. you can see it here :)

We just had two weekends of Metal bands.. but nothing like this :D

I want to see this movie! This area looks so much like the Netherlands.. it's pretty close, next door in Germany .. I guess Germany has flatlands too :)



and to think I was driving through Germany while this was going on.. you'd think I would've heard it or somebody would've said something :D



I'd thought I'd see it all! Metalheads in the pool!

TDS give the International reaction

and takes well deserved parting shots at Sara Palin :)



Jon Stewart seems pretty happy :) He won't have Bush to kick around anymore but I'm sure there will be plenty of screwups in the future.. even if it's the media outlets

The Dutch are happy Obama won :)

Or at least the Americans there are! This was written on the window of the American bookstore in Amsterdam where I'm sure more than a few expats have been embarrassed by their country :(

It looks like the American people voted for change!

Now we need to undo all the damage we've done and hopefully things will get better :)



I can't believe people even voted for them at all.. it would've been bad :(

I heard the pot in Utrecht was good, but who knew!?!

I'm so glad my friends at RIVM are doing important research ;)
Here's the study

the last SNL before the big day :)

Sarah Palin got Punked :)