April 9, 2009

Obama and fried chicken, Heineken logo rip-off

Filed under: Food & Drink,General by Orangemaster @ 11:16 am
obama-chick

heinekenjpg

Forget the fried chicken story: there’s no real Dutch angle to it, unless you want to celebrate the 400-year friendship between The Netherlands and New York City, although it’s a stretch. It’s a Brooklyn restaurant called Obama and people protested in front of it because implying that African Americans eat fried chicken is racist. Do they serve watermelon for desert?

Look at the logo of this Obama fried chicken joint: do you see the resemblance or is my coffee playing tricks on me? That red star caused enough problems for Heineken, are we going to go on a commie witch hunt soon, too?

(Link: vleesmagazine.nl, Photo by Paul Lowry, some rights reserved.)

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January 17, 2009

Scrapwood Obama

Filed under: Art,Automobiles by Branko Collin @ 1:21 pm

Diederick Kraaijeveld makes art out of scrapwood, and he is exhibiting this wooden depiction of the next president of the USA, Barack Obama, at the Manifest Hope Washington in the American capital this weekend. Kraaijeveld who operates under the pseudonym Oud Hout (old wood) writes about the piece:

The tie of Obama was made of fishing boat wood, found on the beaches of Mombassa, Kenia.

I will take the work—all 120 centimeters of it—along with me on the plane as hand luggage which is cheaper than shipping it. Especially since the organisation was kind enough to provide sleeping arrangements in DC. This is a beautiful opportunity for somebody like me who once studied American History: to be present at a historical inauguration. No, I don’t expect to be in the front row.

Check the rest of the website where you’ll find a scrapwood Volkswagen Beetle, a scrapwood Porsche, a scrapwood Ruud van Nistelrooij, scrapwood Converse Allstars, and much more lovely iconopornography. Scrapwood: not just for furniture anymore.

Link: Trendbeheer (Dutch). Image edited to restore an approximation of the original by removing an unsightly watermark.

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November 5, 2008

A Dutch account of Obama’s victory in New Orleans

Filed under: General by Orangemaster @ 4:14 pm
Election day in New Orleans

A Dutch friend of mine, Bente, who now lives and works in New Orleans (of all places!) and who didn’t sleep much last night, hung out at a few places, and everywhere she went, she watched the results with a full house of serious Obama fans.

Allow me to freely translate some of her thoughts:

It’s a historical day in America. More than we sober Dutch people realise. Today a black president was elected.

That Obama is not a real African-American – his father was a Kenyan student in Hawaii and his mother was a white American – barely makes a difference. The man has coloured skin so he’s black and here this means that you’re “one of us” (at least for African-Americans). For many conservative white people, it’s just as bad: the man is black and therefore evil.

That the colour of one’s skin is so important never ceases to amaze me, but here it’s a fact. Obama’s tint has united many and as of today every black kid can grow up with the idea that they too can become president.

I was never this happy about an election result in the Netherlands, but this really touched me. Not because I think the man is a saint or will bring about worldly changes. No, he’s going to have a tough time, and if he survives this, I’ll be impressed. However, the hope he gives people, especially African-Americans is something no one can take away from them. And who knows, maybe something will really change.

UPDATE: The photo credit is always of who takes the picture, not of who is in it!

(Photo: Bente)

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