July 30, 2007

24 oranges at the Tour finish line!

Filed under: Bicycles,Dutch first,Sports by Orangemaster @ 4:39 pm

While the doping scandals rage on, the show must go on – and it did. Just watching these guys whiz by is enough to make you forget everything and enjoy the colourful peloton being cheered on by all those people in downtown Paris.

It’s slightly OT, but our very own Orangemaster was at the finish line of the Tour de France on the Champs-Élysées in the pressbox taking pictures and filming! Here is a sample.

A huge thanks to Philippe and Jean Michel, two French radio announcers who made this possible and made me remember what the Tour is really about – cycling.

Oh, and for the Dutch fans, everybody thought it was great to see the rest of the Rabobank team race and not abandon the race for one “bad guy”. In my press guide of the Tour, former cyclist Bernard Hinault was quoted as saying, “every year, I say the same thing: they (Rabobank) have a solid, homogenous team that can score on the straights and in the mountains.”

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Daniele Bennati crossing the finish line, winning the Champs-Élysées stage.

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“La voix du Tour” (The voice of the Tour) since 1974, Daniel Mangeas, very friendly and took a few minutes to chat.

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Britain’s David Millar, leader of the Saunier Duval-Prodir team giving an interview minutes after the race.

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July 29, 2007

Zone 5300: more of same

Filed under: Art,Comics by Branko Collin @ 3:30 pm

[cover] The summer edition of Dutch “comics, culture & curiosa” mag Zone 5300 has been out for a while, but I have been a bit busy and haven’t been able to discuss the issue here before. Loads of the house comics are presented in this issue (you know, Beach Man, Maaike, Boerke, and even an Hibou). The boys from Lamelos (translation: Lemmego) have a mister Doodiehead and his friend Cheesehead guard a diamond from criminal hedgehogs (pleonasm, or an all too necessary amplification of the truth?).

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Illustration by Lamelos.

Among the rare guest strips are the (autobiographic?) Love Story by Wittek, and Voodoo Koedoe (which rhymes in Dutch), in which Joshua Peeters gets in touch with his inner wigger. “Come on Dorothy, let me tell you about the missionary position.”


Illustration by Joshua Peeters.

Furthermore, an article exploring the use of corpses in art, and the usual barrage of book, music and film reviews. In Fool’s Gold, Milan Hulsing and Frits Jonker ask what happened to Die Sprechende Türkin, an early 19th century speech synthesizer built as half an android (the top half, of course), so if you know the answer, don’t hesitate to mail them.

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July 27, 2007

Tour de France bad business for Dutch bakers

Filed under: Food & Drink,General,Sports by Orangemaster @ 11:32 am
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The firing of Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen has caused cake problems. As sponsor, the Rabobank had promised every employee in the country ‘yellow jersey’ cake after they would win the Tour, which seemed pretty likely at the time. Since the party is so not going to happen, neither is the big order for the Dutch pastry company in Haarlem overseeing the order. Lucky for them, all those Dutch bakeries were planning on starting their cakes this weekend, so it’s not a complete disaster.

(Link: zibb)

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July 26, 2007

Man ‘rapes’ sheep, but did the sheep suffer?

Filed under: Animals by Orangemaster @ 1:51 pm

In the fields of Haaksbergen, Overijssel the police arrested a man ‘raping’ a sheep because the sheep’s owner, who must have seen it happen, filed a complaint. Sex with animals in the Netherlands is only punishable by law if there is proof the animal suffered and the police need to investigate the matter further.

So if the police conclude the animal did not suffer, it can’t be called rape. But what was it? It surely wasn’t consentual. What about ‘abusing’ someone else’s property? Yes, animals are property here last time I checked. Any thoughts, people?

This is not the first time that sex with animals has made it on 24 oranges. The law hasn’t changed since the last time we posted about it.

(Link: rtl.nl)

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July 25, 2007

Wild pig season opens in Epe

Filed under: Animals by Orangemaster @ 11:16 am
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Today the town of Epe, Gelderland has declared open hunting season on wild pigs. Apparently, the boars cause problems inside and outside of town, wrecking gardens and wandering downtown at night, catching drivers off guard. Solution? Shoot them on the edge of town, because they will reproduce. When they make it in town, they will be shot at with a gun used for fireworks. Thursday the real shooting will get underway by people hired to do so.

Is it just me or will local restaurants with culinary insight want to get in on this?

(Link: blik op nieuws)

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July 24, 2007

Follow detour signs, not your GPS

Filed under: Automobiles,Dutch first by Orangemaster @ 2:56 pm
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The city of Roermond, Limburg has placed six warning signs telling lorry drivers to follow the detour signs and not their navigation system. Foreign lorry drivers regularly get their vehicles stuck trusting their navigation system, which does not tell them which streets are closed off due to road works on the A73, N280-Oost and N293. These symbols were chosen so that foreigners can understand them. The word ‘attentie’ looks like the English ‘attention’ and the Italian ‘attenzione’. The word ‘omleiding’ (‘detour’) is also used because that is what it says on the actual detour signs.

And so the city has to wait and see if it actually works.

(Link: De Limburger, Gemeente Roermond)

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Dutch fashion designer wins Italian award

Filed under: Fashion by Orangemaster @ 10:35 am
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During the Haute Couture week AltaRoma in Rome, Addy van den Krommenacker won the award of best new designer 2007, which will be handed out in September 2007 in Taormina, Sicily. He is apparently thrilled about it. For his theme ‘A Tribute To The Academy Awards’ Addy was inspired by films and great actresses.

(Link: blik op nieuws, via Omroep Brabant)

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July 23, 2007

Need kid? Adopt an embryo

Filed under: Dutch first,Science by Orangemaster @ 9:31 am
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Can’t conceive? Couples will soon be able to knock on the door of the Medisch Centrum Kinderwens in Leiderdorp, South Holland to adopt an embryo. Two couples have already agreed to give up their frozen embryos, left over from IVF attempts. According to director and gynaecologist Marinus Crooij, his clinic is the first in the Netherlands to offer this type of adoption. A woman simply becomes the surrogate of her adoptive child.

Giving away embryos in the Netherlands is not forbidden, but does not happen very often. The Embryo Act says donors may not remain anonymous and their details must be registered with the Stichting Donorregistratie, the Dutch donor registry. “When a child is 16, they have the right to know who their ‘genetic’ parents are. Not everyone agrees with this”, explains Crooij. In Great Britain and the US this type of adoption is already common place. “If you accept adoption, you have to accept this as well. It is comparable. Moreover, these children are wanted from the very start, which is not the case with ordinary adoption.”

(Link: Gerderlander)

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July 20, 2007

Dutch agency produces SUV advert with electrocuted dog

Filed under: Animals,Automobiles by Orangemaster @ 12:26 pm
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Chrysler Group apologized for an advertisement that showed a dog being electrocuted beside its new Dodge Nitro sports utility vehicle. Dutch advertising agency BBDO Netherlands produced an advert in which a dog is electrocuted after urinating on a Nitro’s wheels. The advert, which ends with the dog going up in flames, has the tagline “charged with adrenaline”. According to Chrysler, the advert was placed exclusively on the Internet. The company said the advert included “fictional yet inappropriate treatment of an animal” and said it was “in extremely bad taste.” So is the car design-wise, according to many car blogs.

By now, it it said to have been removed from YouTube, but I’m sure it’s floating around somewhere, virally. If anyone has a link, please post.

Update: And here we are. Thanks, Adamus!
Nitro kills dog

(Link: ninemsn.au)

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July 19, 2007

New Dutch car brand: Hansen

Filed under: Automobiles,Dutch first by Orangemaster @ 8:59 pm
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After Donkervoort, Carver and Spyker, the Netherlands now has a new car maker, Hansen. Founder Giel Hansen plans to build real sports cars without all the fancy electronics. As well, they are also working hard on a custom built car, designed by Ernesto Freitas of Portugal. The car will be road ready as well as suitable for race circuits. Hansen is currently working on a first test car, which will debut this winter. Five cars will be built for a price of EUR 225,000 excluding taxes.

(Link: zibb)

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