prolific.org

Brilliant. The BBC airs the first episode of the new Dr Who and somehow the sound of live show Strictly come dancing, the ‘Idols’-like dancing competition that was on before, is still coming through. So there’s Billie Piper, as Rose, being attacked by alien mannequins and Graham Norton is babbling in the background. Not the best start for the new series!

[Read more]

Comic Sans walks into a bar and asks for a beer. Says the bartender: “Sorry, we don’t serve your type here.”

(Heard on my new favourite BBC programme, The Culture Show. Must get that new Francis Bacon book.)

[Read more]

BBC reports Michael ‘Jesus Juice’ Jackon’s has been rushed to hospital with a severe case of the flu.

It wasn’t me.

Our Queen’s father, His Royal Highness, Prince Bernhard, has died. He
died of a malignant tumor in his lungs and his bowels.

Asked how he wanted to be remembered, the prince told the press: “I hope the Dutch people remember that I broke my balls for them my whole life.” He was a scoundrel and a real character and I liked him for it.

BBC News: Prince Bernard dies

And now we’re Sci-Fi.com’s Site of the Week.

And a mention on the BBC Cult site.

I really need to think about getting my own server.

This is for those Dutch politicians claiming four more years of the Bush administration is a victory for its policy on the ‘war on terrorism’.

Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh was murdered in the vicinity of Oosterpark in Amsterdam this morning.

He was shot and stabbed several times. A note was pinned on Van Gogh’s body.

The killer was apprehended by Dutch police after a shoot out in Oosterpark. He is a 26 year old man of both Dutch and Moroccan nationality.

Van Gogh, controversial and outspoken, was working on a film on Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, who was murdered two years ago.

BBC: Gunman kills Dutch film director
ABC: Dutch Filmmaker Theo van Gogh Murdered
Reuters: Controversial Dutch Filmmaker Shot Dead

On a personal note, the murder, the shoot out and arrest of the killer took place some 500 meters from my home.

(translated from Dutch, written earlier today)

Who said the tide is turning on the sea ?
A strange love’s caught up with me

Forever paradise
- The Undertones

As a teenager in the late 70s, early 80s, I would spend hours glued to my little radio. I would try to receive BBC Radio 1, but all I could get properly was the World Service, on short wave. Sometimes Radio 1 would drift in, shards of sound and conversation. Slowly rising, then — often on the hour — reception would cease.

I had read about John Peel — a legend in his lifetime — in music magazines. I wanted to hear his show. That’s why I tuned in at night, twisting the dial fruitlessly. I did catch bits and pieces once every while. The music he played I did not know or understand. But his voice was striking. An authority, that much was clear.

Later came the hunt for tapes of his live sessions. You couldn’t be a fan of live music in the 80s and not be desperate for those tapes.

I could have listened to his shows these last few years, the John Peel show is broadcast in Real Audio. But I never did.

And now I never will.

BBC: Legendary radio DJ John Peel dies
BBC Obituary
MeFi: A sad day for music
NYLPM photo tribute
Peel sessions

The Dutch Queen Mother, Her Royal Highness Princess Juliana passed away early on Saturday, 20 March 2004. She died in her sleep at ten to six in the morning.

Despite her abdication in 1980, despite not being much of a Royalist myself, I always thought of her as our real queen. She brought our Royals closer to the people, seemed headstrong yet kind and always slightly mad, like a proper monarch.

Ever since I got a bigger telly and find myself with a little more time to spare, I’ve been spending more time on the couch, rediscovering TV.

Most of my TV intake is very deliberate. I have a few series I watch religiously. I stick to the USA schedule, download the episodes and watch them either on the computer or (after burning a VCD) on TV. But lately I have been enjoying documentaries on the box. I stumble upon them while channel surfing.

[Read more]