See you on the other side of the millennium.

Prolific is somewhat of an award...

Boys, girls... especially the Dutch ones, careful with the fireworks tomorrow. Mind where you throw your crackers. The Dutch spend millions on fireworks every New Year's Eve. And I must say, the few times I've celebrated New Year's Eve abroad, I've been very disappointed at the lack of noise. You have to chase those old year demons away! What the Dutch do for New Year's Eve:

• eat dinner
• eat 'oliebollen, appelflappen & appelbeignets' (round doughnuts with raisins, apple turnover, apple doughnuts)
• watch (political) cabaret/stand up on tv & eat toast, cheese, pate, salads
• open champagne when the clock strikes midnight, drink it
• go outside, wish all the neighbours in the street a happy new year and light tons of fireworks (fireworks goes on sale a day in advance, lots of people buy illegal (heavier) crackers in Belgium)
• drink more champagne in the street, wish lots of strangers happy new year... drink their champagne too

I would buy fireworks if I still smoked, the stuff is just hard to light without cigarettes. I'll settle for champagne and apparently we're having pea soup (trad Dutch dinner). [ more here and pictures of fireworks in Amsterdam ]

This is a good recent U2 interview. What I'll remember? This: Bono: As anyone around here will tell you, friendship is a thing that I hold very sacred. Cocteau, I think he only wrote one serious essay in his life, and it was on the subject of friendship - friendship is higher than love. He goes on about how it's less glamorous, less passionate, less everything, but perhaps endures and comes from as deep a place.

Wanna see me mug?

L-rs captures wintry Holland by night.

This morning, before going into work, I went by the post office to pick up my mail. Much to my surprise I found a fabulous FOJM mug, courtesy of, well, Jezebel. We now have instant mug dilemma. Do we keep mug at work, where we (sadly but unavoidably) spend most of our time, or do we take mug back home? Mug home seems the better option. Mug at work would probably end up in mug being stolen.

It would be interesting to know how many days in 2000 I didn't write a blog entry. I'd be surprised if it were more than a handful of days. update: John, of PerryLane.org tells me I have blogged every day in 2000. Only Dec 25 and 26 haven't been archived by Blogger. God knows why. Grrr.

Suits you, Sir. Bye bye, Fast Show [ alternative links ] ... is it really the last time?

The MEME MATRIX: tracking the threads of the beau monde. Hmmm, a list.