All Things Holland

If you were given the job of creating a flag to represent your country, how would you design it?  Myself, I would probably think of some symbols of your country then hand over the design portion to an artist, with the plan of choosing colors that aptly represent where you live.  What have most countries of the world done?  Three bars filled in with color.  Lets talk about the Netherlands flag.  This "orange" country has a drab flag, but not only is it drab it's deceiving.  So many countries use red, white, and blue that it is confusing. + A little sun bleaching,  Luxembourg +Sea sickness       France + Dyslexia ,  Russia                                                                             ...

I have looked at Dutch long enough!  I am going to teach myself and you my dear readers how to pronounce it as well.  At least we should be able to read it right?  Een enkele taal is nooit genoeg (one language is not enough)  And some noticeable differences in letter pronunciation are G, J, R, ch, and of course the vowels.  -I have copied this box out of smartphrase.com- Vowels   a • short like a in h a rd, but even shorter, or • long like a in c a t, but even longer e • short like e in s e t, but even shorter, or • long like a in l a ne i • short like i in b i t, but even shorter o • short like o in h o t, but even shorter, or • long like oa in b oa t u • like u in h u rt, but even shorter, or • long like oo in b oo t, said with pursed lips eu • long like u in h u rt, but with tightly rounded lips oe • long like oo in b oo k, but with rounded lips ie • long like ea in ch ea t ...

Check this baby out!  Yahoo Story.   (I had a different picture posted here but you couldn't tell the length of it) Here's a quick post for you. A yacht that Steve Jobs commissioned is finally finished (October 27, 2012). Sadly it's after he passed (A year and a few days later). Why is this on this blog? Because it was built in Aalsmeer Holland by a Dutch shipbuilder. Figures the Dutch are good at building quality sea going vessels. Just slightly southwest of Amsterdam with a 'harbor'. Here's a brief synopsis of the article. There are more pictures of the boat there too.  Just over a year after Steve Jobs's death, shipbuilders in Aalsmeer, Holland have finally finished the yacht that the Apple visionary spent years designing. Her name is  Venus . (Or should that be iVenus? Sorry to easy).  B uilt entirely out of aluminum, the yacht was designed by Jobs personally along with some help from French designer Phillipe Stack. The ship is between ...

(This information borrowed from The Blauvelt News written by Kristine Brower) Slow news weeks. No posts because I've been lazy and haven't set aside the time to do the research I want to on the topics I want. But, did find this neat quick article about Halloween in Holland. Saint Martin's Day, November 11th, is a celebration in Holland similar to 'trick-or-treat' as we know it. People in Holland go around receiving treats by ringing on doorbells and signing songs for which they are given sweets or tangerines for their efforts. They travel with lanterns singing songs similar to this. Elf November is de dag, Dat mijn lichtje, Dat mijn lichtje. Elf November is de dag, Dat mijn lichtje branden mag. (Thanks to Google Translate) Eleventh of November is the day, That my light, That my light. Eleventh of November is the day, That my light may burn. Why do the Dutch celebrate Sint Maarten (Saint Martin)? One dark and stormy night, Martin was alone. He onl...