Campbell's Soup

12 June 2010 - It happened almost unnoticed, but a few weeks actor, director, artist and rebel Dennis Hopper died in the United States. Hopper started his remarkable life as a 15-years old drug addict, and later became one of the most prominent ant-Vietnam-war activists. There is also a story that at a certain moment he was found naked and hallucinating in a street in small town Mexico trying to raise funds & recruit men for an army to fight the third world war. Most of all, Hopper became known as a great art collector, although he lost most of his collection in various nasty divorces. He paid only USD 75 for the first Campbell's Soup painting by Andy Warhol. Although it is still a high price to pay for a silly painting of a tin of soup, its probably one of the best investments ever.

Quote of the Day (18)

12 June 2010 - An extensive quote this time. It comes from an SCMP interview with Michael Palin: "Poverty is sometimes used by people who have a lot of money to describe people .. who haven't. I realize we are very much conditioned in our own modern lives. I depend on the electricity company for light, on planes bringing food from 300 miles away, on someone to build the roads. I have just been to parts of Orissa, India, where people have little money, yet they are in control of everything they do. Their lives may not offer as many options as ours, but they have lived on the land for 2,000 years. They know how to cultivate it, they are not destroying anyone else's livelihood, and they are creating in many ways a sense of contentment and fulfillment, which is rather enviable. A lot of the things we now think are important, like sustainable agriculture, development of the community, lack of consumerism, are things they have and we do not. To destroy that way of life is to do so at our own peril."

South Africa Wins

11 June 2010 - Today is a historical day in the history of modern South Africa. The whole world will be watching as the country hosts the first ever World Cup Football on African soil. A lot of things can go right, but there are also a lot of things that may go wrong. I believe South can and will do well, and I hope that the Cup will be one big party for the rainbow nation. The South African team may not be the next World Champion, but let's hope they will do well. No matter the result of the South African team, South Africa will win hopefully win anyway. The country can show how far it has come since the apartheids regime, and hopefully tourism will pick up again. If all goes well, the Cup may also influence how the world sees the African continent. Viva South Africa! Viva!

Venus or Mars

11 June 2010 - The summer holiday season is rapidly approaching in most European countries, which leads to some interesting questions. Who will pack the car? Dutch researchers found that it is a better idea to ask the man to the job, because - to put it simply - they are better at it. It was tested among 500 men and 500 women and all (incl. the women) agreed that men were faster and made more efficient use of the space. However, women are better in packing the suitcase. There was also no disagreement here - both sexes agreed that it was better to leave this part of the holiday preparation to women. So with those dilemmas sorted the remaining question is who will park the car?  Women and men both claimed they did a better job, and there was no conclusive answer from the experts.

No More Orange Tweets

10 June 2010 - The Dutch football team is in preparation for the first match against Denmark on Monday. The youngest football players grew up in an era of Twitter, Facebook and other social online media. Twittering is part of life for them, but they probably do not always realize the impact of a sensitive, insulting or just simply silly Tweet. Yesterday, Dutch football coach Bert van Marwijk was forced to ban all use of Twitter during the World Cup in South Africa. The decision was made after young Ajax player Elia posted a video on YouTube in which he could be heard viciously swearing at somebody of North African descent. Most youngsters in the team see Tweeting and Facebooking as part of daily communication, so boredom may set in if they are not allowed to play with their online toys. Boredom leads to frustration, frustration leads to tension, and with a tense team the Dutch will not win the World Cup. I am worried.

My Generation

10 June 2010 - One of the first things I did on return in the City of Buzz was going online to check the results of the Dutch parliamentary elections. It is not a really good result, as the Dutch made a swing to the right, and the new right wing anti-immigrant PVV party became the third political party in the country. That is bad news. It is now up to Queen Beatrix to decide who will be asked to form the new Government, but it is to be expected that the liberal VVD will get the lead, as they are the biggest party in the country. What is also interesting about these elections is that the era of the baby-boomers has almost come to an end. Most emerging political leaders are born in the 1960s and stood for a long time in the shadow of the baby-boomers. A similar thing happened a few weeks ago in the UK (Cameron, Clegg) and it is expected that we will soon see a new generation of pragmatic, less dogmatic leaders take over world affairs. That is good news. My generation is now in the lead - the times they are changing.

Geneva (again)

9 June 2010 - It is almost time to leave Geneva and return to Hong Kong. I have to rectify one of my earlier blogs, because I had a good time here. The lake is beautiful, the city does not go to sleep at 22h00 and we had great food (and excellent wine). The only thing that puzzled me somewhat is that the Rhone river flows out of Lac Leman, instead of into the lake. Thats a bit confusing, no? But even that makes sense as the lake is a major basin for the Alps. So a nice picture from Geneva to celebrate this city. Hong Kong next.

BYOB

9 June 2010 - I went into a restaurant in Holland and saw BYOB on the menu card. Surprise!!! An Australian friend said it is absolutely normal to see the BYOB in Australia (= Bring Your Own Bottle), where people bring their own red or white to the restaurant. Sometimes, if you are lucky, the chef will adjust his cooking to your wine, which sounds like a really good idea. One has to pay a small fee, because the restaurant will earn less, but still has to clean the glasses. The marketing gods have probably studied this concept and ruled that it is not profitable on the long term, but one wonders why it is possible in Australia and not elsewhere? So lets hope the Dutch initiative will fly and give a new meaning to the notion of going Dutch.

The Other JC

8 June 2010 - I am still in Europe, and the Dutch are organizing their parliamentary elections this week. It is one of the first times in my life that I forgot to register (also a bit complicated while I am in Geneva), and I feel bad about it. It is a duty to vote! I would not know if I would vote for the third JC though. After Jesus Christ and Johan Cruijff, the third messiah with the JC initials is the leader of the Socialist Party (Partij van de Arbeid) Job Cohen. This former mayor of Amsterdam struggled thoughout the election campaign, as he is not a very good debater and terrible with figures and statistics. He seems more of a pilosopher though, and probably one of the most ethical statesmen/women in Holland. The big concern is the rise of the PVV, with their (sometimes extreme) right wing agenda. JC consequently attacked the PVV programme, which has turned him into a somewhat controversial figure, as the multi-cultural dimension of Amsterdam is under threat. However, lets hope this messiah will stop the threat of the PVV.

I am Swatch

8 June 2010 - I still remember my first Swatch watch. It must have been in the mid 1980s, and it was my first Swiss watch. It was also the time that wearing a certain product became an image statement - I am Swatch. From the start Swatch was a fun brand, with a fun image. Swatch was initially intended to regain some of the market that was lost to Japanese watch makers, such as Seiko, in the 1970s, and to re-popularize the analog watches in a time of analog watches. Swatches were really cool throughout the 1980s - I still remember my Keith Haring Swatch. I still have three Swatches, but probably by now they are very much out-of-style and old fashioned.

Robben-Mania

7 June 2010 - On my way to Switzerland I shortly touched base in Holland, now a country in mourning, as star-player Arjan Robben can probably be ruled out for the world cup with a hamstring injury. Robben is a winger who can make the difference - as he also showed this season with Bayern Munich - and it is a great loss, if he won't be able to play. One commentator sighed in despair and said "What can we hope for with two wingers made of glass?" (the other winger is just as spectacular as Robben, but just as fragile). Holland needs their goal-scoring forwards, as the Dutch defense is notoriously weak. But it does not matter how weak your defence is, if you score more goals than the other team. Without Robben it seems increasingly

Geneva ...

7 June 2010 - I am Geneva - and to come straight to the point: I struggle a bit with what to write about the city. I immediately acknowledge that it has to do with my negative perception, but I simply find Geneva not a very exciting place to be. That is a bit weird, because one could argue that it is the capital of humanitarianism, that they sell great chocolate and that one can buy beautiful (and expensive) watches. But I checked the tourist brochures, and the other highlights are a Clock Tower, a Fountain, a Reformation Wall and swans swimming in the lake. I am silent.

Quote of the Day (17)

7 June 2010 - I sat on panel in Brussels, and one member in the audience quoted Martin Luther King: "We shall not remember the words of our enemies, but we shall remember the silence of our friends.". I really like that quote.

Rats Are Coming to Town

6 June 2010 - I understand that - in my absence - Hong Kong is buzzing with the news that a tourist was bitten by a rat in downtown Central. Newspapers have reported that the incident could damage the SARS reputation of the city, and citizens have cried foul about our dirty city. "Kill, kill, kill" I hear the masses shout. The newspaper also said that "we cannot show tourists rats". Hey - name me one sea-side city in the world without rats? I do not think we are living the horror movie "Rat Attack" yet after one rat bite. Hong Kong grow up.

Rollerpeace

6 June 2010 - Gone are the days of Jules Verne's Around The World in 80 Days. These days we hop on a plane and find ourselves in Rio, Sydney or Jo'burg in a whizz. But luckily there are still some crazy romantic souls who want to travel the world with other modes of transport. The 44-years old Mats Frankl decided to round the globe on rollerskates. It will be a first ever. Frankl will be followed by wife Lisa and two sons in their mobihome. He plans to skate on average 75 km. per day and will raise money for www.rollerpeace.com.