05/01/30 Links, novel progress #47
05/01/23 Another death in Amsterdam, links, novel progress #46, tarot progress #3
05/01/16 Links, novel progress #45
05/01/09 Links
05/01/02 Links, tarot progress #1
05/01/30 Links, novel progress #47
05/01/23 Another death in Amsterdam, links, novel progress #46, tarot progress #3
05/01/16 Links, novel progress #45
05/01/09 Links
05/01/02 Links, tarot progress #1
So, we too (the Dutch, that is) will have our referendum on the European constitution.
In theory, the whole thing is simple. The referendum is non-binding, which means that its results will constitute a bit of advice from the population to the government, which the latter is free to either take or ignore. In practice, things got more complicated when several Parliament fractions announced that they would consider the results binding. As a consequence, there's criticism of the referendum from two sides: one side worrying that the results of the referendum won't affect government policy, and the other worrying that they will.
Another topic of concern is the question of the level playing field. The government is in favour of the European constitution, and has announced its intentions of making every effort to get a majority of "yes" votes. This was met with protest from opponents of the constitution, who claim that with their limited funds and with much less access to free publicity than the government has, the chances of them getting a fair chance are minimal.
And there are also the minor practicalities, like phrasing the referendum question in an easily understandable and non-leading way, and providing the population with enough information to come to an informed decision. Also, the Dutch referendum is planned to take place in roughly the same period as the French one. The French referendum may very well lead to a "no", which may influence both the outcome of the Dutch referendum and the subsequent decisions of the Dutch government. Well, We'll see.
From the "things may not be what they seem" department: prince Michael of Albany.
The Royal House of Stewart
The Jacobite heritage: "Prince Michael of Albany"
Chivalric orders: "Prince Michael of Albany"
Irish chiefs: Report on the pedigree of Michel Lafosse, styled Prince Michael of Albany
Tolkien's sources.
Sacred texts: Sources of Lord of the Rings
The meaty details.
Inkwell.vue: Brian McWilliams' "Spam kings"
Themed blogging.
Web Zen
Watching Big Brother.
Opentopia: Random live webcams from the Net
Two new episodes in the past week, 1,271 new words, 64,424 words total.
Introduction
Introduction and start of part 3
After the war (94)
After the war (95)
And, yes, we're off again.
Last week two boys on a moped drove by a woman's car, opened a door, snatched her purse that was on the front seat and fled. The woman reversed her car and drove backwards in pursuit, eventually killing one of the boys who got caught between the car and a tree.
And now, it seems, we have two martyrs in the making.
At the one hand we have the Moroccan community in Amsterdam, where the incident happened, outraged after the violent death of one of their own (the victim was Moroccan). At the other hand we have the right-wing(ish) Telegraaf newspaper, reacting with indignation to the fact that the driver has been detained and may be facing legal repercussions for her actions.
At the one hand we have someone committing a crime, who must have been aware of the risk of the victim fighting back and the possibility of escalation. At the other hand we have a woman whose purse had been stolen, but whose safety wasn't being threatened by the thieves when she decided to shift her car into reverse and give chase. To the extent she was capable of rational thought at the time, she must have realised that she might end up in a confrontation with an unforeseeable outcome.
Was this a tragedy? Certainly. But should either of them be made into a martyr? No way.
More Dutch politics and current events:
Dutch politics in 2005
The moral majority may not be what it seems.
Bob Parsons: Mickey Rooney's bare rear end - why you should care about it
Iraqi citizens and US soldiers speak out.
MeFi: Voices from Iraq
Useful stuff.
43 folders
Things that make you happy.
The idler: Ah, is this not happiness
(via Metafilter)
Beauty can be found in unexpected places.
Birding Babylon
(via Metafilter)
One new episode in the past week, 557 new words, 63,153 words total.
Introduction
Introduction and start of part 3
After the war (93)
New version of I The Magician, and some explanatory text.
Current
Archive
My apologies to anyone who's tried to e-mail me and got an error message. Things should be all nice and dandy now. In theory, at least.
Seek the source.
Jitterbug: Star Wars origins
(via Apothecary's Drawer)
Somebody's son, brother, husband, friend...
Livejournal: Online diary of a soldier who's since died in Iraq
(via Metafilter)
How children see the world.
Ask Metafilter: What goes on in children's heads?
Discussing Islam.
The Well: Sajjad Khan and Farooq Khan, "New Civilisation"
Writers, teachers and translaters talk about writing.
Critique: On Writing
(via Metafilter)
One new episode in the past week, 654 new words, 62,596 words total.
Introduction
Introduction and start of part 3
After the war (92)
First version of I The Magician.
Current
Archive
Received an invitation for the final exam of my post-doc course, which means that my thesis has been accepted. So far, so good.
No tarot progress or novel progress this week. Why don't we just go on to the links?
ESAG's ads have been appearing in the Dutch media for some time now, and I'm starting to wonder who these people are and what their agenda might be.
Bearstrong: The ESAG TV ads
Death and resurrection, but not as we know them.
Popmatters: The Pagan Christ
(via Metafilter)
Interesting discussion about paganism, with some good links.
AskMe: When did de worship of the ancient gods die out?
Beautiful pictures of beautiful places.
Martin Gray: Sacred sites
(via Metafilter)
Views from Europe.
Viewropa
(via Metafilter)
A happy new year to you all.
Still catching up on the links. No novel progress this week, I'm still trying to get back on track. There's tarot progress, though.
Preserving and promiting native American languages.
Native American language net
(via Metafilter)
A question about plots evolves into an interesting discussion about storytelling and narrative structure.
Ask Metafilter
And, on a related subject...
Testy copy editors
(via Metafilter)
Closer to the source.
British Library: William Shakespear in quarto
(via, yet again, Metafilter)
Why people voted Bush.
Ask Metafilter
My latest project.
Latest updates
Archive
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