The Friday Weigh-in

Dangerous weight loss strategies are not to be encouraged but an unusual thing happened last weekend. I was feeling very ill on Saturday so I couldn't stomach any food whatsoever. As a result I seem to have lost a kilo. All of the training and careful dieting have resulted in very little change in the last weeks but a one day bug seems to have delivered some progress on the weight front.
Anyway, I am still busy with my 37 day challenge and I have now clocked up 21 alcohol-free days. To be honest it is not really a challenge because I don't think about beer so much and a nice mug of tea is still the nicest drink there is. When I go to Japan next month I will probably drink with my colleagues as is wont there so my challenge will not be extended. I might try another, longer challenge after the summer holidays though.
My language learning is really back on track. I have been making a lot of progress with Japanese, maybe the approaching visit to Japan is giving me that extra push. I finished one French novel and I have begun another. Right now I daren't start reading in English in case I will lose the French vibe. I have also been reading the latest Punto y Coma magazine so that I don't forget my Spanish. On this front I couldn't be doing more.
Dutch children have to see a speech therapist when they are about 5 to check on their language development. Luna had her meeting this week and the result was very positive. The therapist says that her Dutch is at a good level and that we just have to keep doing what we are doing to make sure that she gets enough exposure to Dutch. Nearly every day we have different children coming in and out of our house so I don't think we need to worry about the girls exposure to Dutch from now on.
Next weekend Aga will be going to Poland for a weekend to stay with a friend so I will be home alone with the kids for three days. That will be another big challenge, life keeps me pretty busy.

Read More......

The Woman in Me

I tried out the GenderAnalyzer  tool which uses artificial intelligence software to guess if a blog is written by a man or a woman. They claim that the tool is quite accurate but it guessed that my blog is written by a woman with a 62% certainty score. I imagine that the algorithms used look at word counts and map them to domains associated with the respective genders. Though of course I take the result with a pinch of salt I can't say that I am surprised as I am clearly not particularly masculine.
It is an interesting question though. Is gender a relative thing? Is our physical body merely a repository that can be labelled male or female while our emotional and mental selves can be all things in between? There was a phase when I was younger when I seemed to have a particular attraction for bisexual women. I found it quite hard to deal with their sexual orientation because of my inherent conservatism. If I had have been more open in my thinking at the time it might have made more sense. At that time I was too busy trying to fit in with my male peers though so I wasn't willing to deal with anything outside of the box.

Read More......

If youth but knew

If you asked me if I would like to look younger I would undoubtedly answer in the affirmative. I would particularly love to have my hair back; when I actually had hair I wasted it. I never dyed it or permed it or even wore a pony tail. I get annoyed when I see young lads with shaved heads. "You might be bald for most of your life!", I think to myself, "Grow it back you idiot!" Grey hair I can deal with better, salt and pepper works as a look just as long as there's plenty of pepper and not too much salt.
I wouldn't like to be younger though. For me my thirties have been an oasis of calm compared to the emotional instability of my twenties. I remember when I was about 27 talking to my brother about the ten best events of my life and ten worst events of my life. At that time almost every great experience involved drinking and partying and plenty of the worst experiences involved drinking too. Maybe you just revise your priorities as you get older but now none of my top ten best ever experiences would be overtly linked to drinking though almost all my worst experiences would be.
I think that getting married and having a family has given my life an anchor that it never had before that. I was a very rootless person, always building things up only to smash them up in due course and move on. It has taken me almost all of my nearly 37 years to actually start to be myself. The biggest thing I have let go of is the tendency I had to really fight to maintain relationships that would otherwise maybe have faded away. If people want to be with me they know where to find me, if they don't there is no point in forcing things. As they say in French say "If youth but knew, if old age but could."

Read More......

A Great Dutch Tradition - De Avond Vierdaagse

One of the nicest Dutch traditions can be observed in June of every year when hundreds of thousands of walkers take to the early evening streets to join the avond vierdaagse (evening four day event). For four evenings in a row children and adults walk distances of 3, 5, 10 or 15km, mostly wearing a school or club t-shirt. This year my Luna will join the walk for the first time so we feel quite excited (and integrated!).
The tradition dates from the Second World War when groups first started organizing these events to encourage physical exercise. The walks were banned by the Germans by the occupation but they resumed after the war when local walking groups and town councils began to organize them again.
In our town you see hundreds of walkers following the route for these four June evenings. Nowadays it is seen as a very good way to encourage children to get off the couch and to put away those dreadful gameboy thingamajigs. However, the positive aspects of the tradition are somewhat undermined by the fact that lots of the children seem to walk with bags of candy and cookies or downing sugary drinks. God forbid that the kids might actually burn some energy ;-)
Another very amusing habit that has emerged during the avond vierdaagse is that many children suck on a half of a lemon or orange with two or three peppermints stuck in it. The children suck the juice through the mint. If you don't believe me just look at this link; it is a very weird tradition. I won't be preparing this treat for my daughter unless she specifically ask for it though.

Read More......

Language Choices

As I mentioned before I have been tormenting myself with the idea of starting a degree in French this year. Currently I am inclined not to go through with this idea because it is just too big a commitment financially and in terms of time. In the last while I have started reading far more in French and watching French television much more regularly. Ultimately I might be a lot better off trying to push my French to the next level by living part of my life in French than exposing myself to the stress of exams and commitments. I also worry that studying might lead me to give up somewhat on Japanese and Spanish and that would be a shame considering how far I have come since I took up those languages.
I guess my big personal issue is that I have a pathological need for validation. At a certain point though you have to do things for good reasons. I have an MBA to my name that I really have not used and that involved a lot of commitment on my part. With a young family I can't risk short changing others unless there is an overall gain for everybody in the end. Whatever happens I think that I need some new goals for the next year or so. I have a real hunger to set myself some targets and achieve them.
My main focus languages are French, Spanish and Japanese. With French I plan to read more and more novels so that my specific vocabulary can increase without much effort, at this stage reading in French is getting very natural. With Spanish I need to keep reading my Punto y Coma magazines, listen to podcasts and revise the grammar because my level is only intermediate so I still need to embed many grammatical points that I take for granted in French. Japanese remains a big challenge, I am gradually progressing by listening to podcasts but what I really need is to finally learn all the kana and start learning kanji. Reading any language is a key competency and right now I am in nowhere city with Japanese.

Read More......

Facebook - How to engage and interest people.....

I have been a Facebook user for a couple of years with somewhat mixed feelings. I like being able to peek in on the lives of old acquaintances but generally people's use of the tool is limited so it's not like there is too much to keep me interested.
I have joined a number of Facebook groups but again I notice that they tend to be very dormant and I haven't yet worked out how to subscribe so that new posts come to my mail box. Basically that leads to inertia and Yahoo groups seem to offer a more dynamic experience.
The one killer functionality on Facebook for me is the ability to become a fan of a product, musician, writer etc. This is the only aspect of Facebook that works for me because I am finally getting  a lot of new and interesting content.  The Irish social networking guru Damien Mulley has pointed out many times on his blog that there are countless commercial opportunities to engage and interest potential customers using  Facebook.  Luckily people from many different domains are now getting that message. The three top pages on Facebook for me are that of my current favourite band The Veronicas (see pic) (updated with photos, videos and posts daily), the language learning provide JapanesePod101.com (regularly updated with content that is not always easily visible on the website) and the Irish clothing company Hairy Baby (product updates, discounts, requests for ideas).

When you know how Facebook can be used you start getting a bit annoyed with bands, artists and companies who are behind the curve. If I am interested in you I am at your disposal on Facebook, feel free to engage me and keep me interested in what you are doing.

Read More......

Blessed are the breadmakers

I have had a breadmaking machine for quite a while but up until recently it had only been used twice and that was with a breadmix. In the last week I have got the machine back out with the full intention of honing my breadmaking skills. Now, breadmaking machines are like automatic, self-parking cars, there is only so much that can go wrong. The key to success is getting the ingredient choice and proportions right. If that goes okay then the only other variable factor is the choice of program the baking time might be too short or too long for a given loaf.
On Sunday I made a rather delightful Hovis wholemeal loaf using flour and bread yeast I sourced in an expat shop. The bread was delicious but not really better and certainly not cheaper than buying a loaf in the supermarket. The pleasure of (partly) making it myself did give me a buzz though. The breadmaker comes in very handy though if you can make breads that are not available in the local baker. Last night I tried my first brioche. It went well enough but the baking time was too long for the size of the loaf so the crust was too thick and slightly burnt. The next time I will make a bigger loaf and see how it goes.
I am also going to try making muesli breads. These are the holy grail for me as I can combine my love of bread with my love of cereal. I am going to scan the net for more delicious bread recipes, this is one delicious hobby.

Read More......

The Friday Weigh-in

This week was the famine after the feast. Whilst on holiday in France I really let go and ate and drank like a modern day Bacchus. These days I just can't get away with that behaviour so this week my diet has returned to normal and I have been training almost every day. My weight has more or less stayed the same but I think that my waist size has expanded a little so I need to get that back to where it was.
I also decided to give my body a break from alcohol for a while and I said to my wife that I was thinking of giving myself a 20 day challenge to stay off alcohol for that length of time. She came up with a counter-suggestion that maybe I should go for a 37 day challenge to match my next birthday age and so it has begun. I am currently on Day 8, it's not like I go in to any kind of craving mode except at the weekends when it is always nice to have a few beers in front of the television. Anyway, I think that my body will appreciate the time in detox so I can easily manage 37 days.
I am reading a French book called "Je m'appelle Élisabeth" right now which is going very well. In fact I am considering if I should start reading two French (or Dutch) books for every one in English. Although I still prefer reading in English I have to say that I am quite comfortable with French and the best way by far to increase you vocabulary in a language is to read and watch as much television as you can in that language. Furthermore, I have my application form filled out to begin a BA in French through the University of London external program next year, I still have to make the final decision but putting French at the centre of my life can only help if I do make that choice.
I have been keeping up the Japanese podcasts but I feel that I am starting to drift so I am changing things about a bit. I have relearned the Hiragana character set in as far as possible and I am going to work on my Katakana next week. Once I can read these characters I can stop only looking at romanized (romaji) texts. I want to buy some children's books in Japan in June. I am also going to go back to my Teach Yourself Japanese book so that I can start to follow a more linear approach again.
We are going to Poland for three weeks in the summer, ten days at a holiday house at the lake resort of Lagow and the rest of the time at the in-laws in Zielona Gora. It ain't exactly my ideal holiday but summers in Poland tend to be sunny and the children will appreciate being around their Polish family and using their mother tongue. Daddy's challenge will definitely not go beyond 37 days since my ideal holiday involves a water, books and beer and there will be much of all three when we get to Poland.

Read More......

Here's some I read earlier

In the last while I haven't posted any book reviews here so I thought that I catch up somewhat by mentioning some books that I have read in the last while.
"Netherland" by Joseph O'Neill is quite a brilliant novel set in New York, London and The Hague with cricket, rather unusually, featuring prominently throughout. The central character is a Dutch cosmopolitan thirtysomething searching, drifting, wanting. This is novel is very much of its time. (9/10)
"Zugzwang" by Ronan Bennett was a major let down, a thriller that didn't thrill. Considering the quality of his other work I was taken aback at the looseness of the plot which follows a psychologist up in intrigue and conspiracy in 19th century St. Petersburg. I can't verify the accuracy of the Russian setting or the use of chess terminology but this seemed authentic. The whole book is just ruined by a boring and disjointed plot. (5/10)
If "In the Heart of the Country" by J.M. Coetzee had have been a film I would have either fallen asleep or left long before the end. As I almost never abandon a book I persevered through to the finale but the novel meant nothing to me. It is a story set around an isolated Afrikaner country girl who murders her father out of spite for his taking a black lover. I must be missing something that Tom Paulin found considering his gushing praise on the back cover. (4/10)
"The Secret Scripture"by Sebastian Barry is a wonderful novel. The quality of writing is excellent throughout and the story itself is quite gripping. The historical detail is quite challenging for any Irish reader who may be in denial about some of the less salubrious aspects of our history. The only downside is that the conclusion is quite predictable and lacks a real twist. As novels go this is as close to perfection as it gets. (10/10)

Read More......

In Search of the Pope's Children

Last night I watched the first part of David McWilliams' documentary "In Search of the Pope's Children" on BBC4 (it was already shown on RTE a couple of years back). The documentary was made in 2006 and as the last throes of the Irish economic boom were being enjoyed. As anybody who was reading his journalistic output at the time will know he had already been predicting the bust for quite a while but the style of the first part of the documentary was quite gentle. Rather than offer too many opinions on what was happening he let the cameras do the talking.
Anyway, the Ireland he presented was recognizable to me from visiting home these last ten years. The extreme materialism of the country always gave me quite a nauseous feeling and seeing it portrayed in this documentary brought back that stomach churning feeling. One interesting thing for me was the categorization of people into the Decklander and HiCo classes. Having been born into the middle classes I can see a lot of parallels between myself and the HiCos. Their search for something more than just an Irish Americana or Anglia strikes a chord. However, the portrayal of these people shopping for organic and luxury foods is also quite alien to me.
Nearly all of the people interviewed said that Ireland was a better country than it had ever been. The archival clips shown as part of the documentary clearly showed why. Though I didn't appreciate it when I was very young I grew up in a miserable country. Of course it is a better country now, it could hardly have gotten any worse. At the same time being better is not saying that the country is a success. The whole point of accepting the partition of the country was to set up an Irish state where the Irish language and culture could prosper. The state has not been particularly successful in that aim. Perhaps the recession years will allow the Irish state to develop a new ethos. Materialism seems to have replaced Catholicism as the dominant ethos in past couple of decades. I wonder what will take its place now that the state must go back to first principles.

Read More......

Cereal Killer

There are some things that home truths that are just too hard to swallow. The Irish Times pointed once again today to research which indicates that most breakfast cereals have sugar and salt contents which are just too high. This is not news to me but I still try to deny it. I cannot accept that the most delicious, wonderful food there is can be bad for me. As the poet once said "Tread softly because you tread on my dreams".
I have a selection of about fifteen different cereals in my kitchen cupboard. Every time I go to a new country I scour the supermarket shelves to see if there are any undiscovered cereal gems I can bring back home with me. I eat cereal every day for breakfast and quite often in the evening too as the last snack of the day. If cereal is bad for me I give up altogether. Although my wife is no great cereal eater my kids have caught the bug and also eat it at least twice a day.
The solution for sure is for the manufacturers to bring down the sugar content, gradually reducing the sweet stuff will wean us off the sweet stuff without any cold turkey and we can keep on eating the food of Gods every day. I could live in a world without hot food, just don't touch my Corn Flakes.

Read More......

Back

I was in the north of France for the last week without an internet connection so that will explain why things have been quiet chez-moi the last while. We were staying in a holiday house in a small coastal resort called Fort Mahon Plage. The place was pretty quiet at this time of year as the French did not have school holidays and the resorts around there cater very much for the French market. The children really enjoyed being there which is the main thing.
I got to road test my French again after a long time out of action. French is one of those languages where lack of practice causes rapid deterioration of your accent. I notice as an English speaker that it is very hard to speak French both correctly and at conversational speed. In shops and restaurants I went for speed above quality and things went well enough though I know that they must have thought that I had a most awful English accent. I enjoyed listening to French radio and Fun Radio is already added to my internet radio favourites.
Ironically my ability to read French at speed is improving all the time and I made my way through half of a novel called "Je m'appelle Élisabeth" by Anne Wiazemsky. That novel is set around a psychiatric hospital and as things would have it I am reading "The Secret Scripture" by Sebastian Barry in parallel which shares the same setting. To keep the momentum up I bought some novels in French by Yasmina Khadra and Florian Zeller.
One thing we love about France are the hypermarkets which we do not have here in Holland. We came home with a whole load of delicious French produce. One brilliant range of juices, jams, biscuits etc. is called Reflets de France. I really think that that has major export potential.
In our house we only had British satellite tv so that meant a rather different televisual diet than usual. The dish did provide Irish radio which was great and the kids had loads of cartoon channels. I watched a fair bit of S4C, the Welsh channel, and BBC Alba (in Scots Gaelic). The latter was not so interesting though I could understand a fair bit, there were too many programs about the language rather than it from what I saw. Welsh is almost incomprehensible to me but after watching a bit (including the Heineken Cup highlights, thank you Wales!) I thought that I was hearing conjunctions like ach and mar as in Irish but I cannot be sure. I was really impressed at how alive Welsh is and I want to learn more about how Welsh has done compared to Irish despite not having had the same state support or preferential status as Irish.
Anyway, duty calls so sin a bhfuil for today.

Read More......