Thursday night the Dutch Parliament achieved an agreement on the introduction of a new public holiday on the first day of April and will be named Freedom Day, literally translated from the Dutch name VrijDom-dag.
The Dutch Freedom Party insisted on the introduction, to shut up the opposing political parties and social movements which were pleading for a day off to celebrate the end of the islamic fasting period (Ramadan).
Due to the fact that the Freedom Party is supported by a large part of the Dutch voting corps, this seems to be a good consensus for the opposition.
Because it has been agreed on such a short notice in advance, the holiday will be actually celebrated for the first time next year. Public and company offices will be closed, small businesses have the opportunity to stay open to profit from the large number of people celebrating. Still, lots of Dutch are expected to take a day off to celebrate the new holiday.
If this holiday proves to be successful (both socially as well as economically), Wilders' disciples in the European Parliament will discuss the holiday to be introduced within the member states of the EU next year.
Happy Freedom Day, enjoy!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Graveyard - Hisingen Blues (2011)
'A few things stand out about this album that make it a cut above most other bands riding the 70's retro-rock wave. The guitar work and drumming is flawless, the vocal performance is one of the best and most charismatic you will ever hear and the lyrical themes are majestic and entertaining. Songs about Lucifer, demons and giving into various temptations always works for me. The production is perfect, it sounds analog but I don't know that for sure as I haven't research it but it has just the right balance of everything. It is also a grower of a recording, if you dig it on the first spin, by spin number 10 you will be addicted to it. It's not perfect but it is a step-up from their self-titled release and will surely push them to a whole new level of acceptance from the flared trouser wearing, hippie-rockers out there.' -Doommantia
And another masterpiece from Sweden, just look at that damn cover.. Recently released in the EU, mid April for US. Check out the links below for some sweet pre-order packages through the label!
Physical needs: EU/US (pre-order)
Links removed
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
About late day openings, etcetera
Apologies are due for the rather late day openings. One day was skipped. I was functioning rather slow, stuck back on 27th when the clock had ticked and time had moved on. My schedule and plans suffered a lot when I realised after I had posted that post that I had somehow missed one whole day doing none of the things planned for that day..
Been a hectic few days and months, but excuses are just that, excuses. Hans is being missed and the excellent efficience with which he keeps this space alive and interesting deserves an applaud. He would be back pretty soon.
As for today, it's India vs. Pakistan in the World Cup semi-finals. Even for a completely no-sport, no-cricket person like me, this match is something!! India didn't bat as well, hope the bowlers put up a good show.
Over all, life has been pretty interesting by all counts, if only a little slow and demanding. But be patient and stay tuned. :)
Graveyard - Graveyard (2008)
'Classic rock, folk melodies and true blues spirit are combined by Graveyard who create an amalgam of music from past decades. This is music coming straight from the heart addressing to people who know how to appreciate authentic heavy music. All you ‘70’s lovers out there make yourselves a favor: check out this band. Take a step into the Graveyard.' -Full review
Fantastic 70's worshipping classic hard rock vibes from Gothenburg, Sweden. Definitely for fans of Witchcraft, that other great band from Sweden. A highly recommended blast from the past!
myspace.com/graveyardsongs
Graveyard on TeePee Records.
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Stilte - Te Vio Partir (2010)
'Stilte', from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Interesting mix of instrumental psyched out stoner/ space rock. A huge trip with the right musical passion behind it. Check it out & give them a visit below. Thanks to the band for sharing!
myspace.com/stiltebuenosaires
Get this one at Stilte's website, or use one of the links below.
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Monday, March 28, 2011
Quest For Fire - Lights From Paradise (2010)
'Dreamy and heavy rocking. Shoegazer and straightforward. Contradictions, but they fit ‘Lights From Paradise’ perfectly. It fits from the very start, opening number ‘Greatest Hits By God’. Brilliant title, and the swirling guitars combined with the violin added by special guest Sophie Trudeau (of Godspeed! You Black Emperor and Thee Silver Mt. Zion fame) create a special sluggishly slow base for the echo and reverb drenched vocals. The musical equivalent of maple syrup. Thick, sweet but very tasty. Next track ‘Set Out Alone’ has similar vocals (as if the microphone was covered in cotton balls) but a significantly higher pace. This is rock, or rather Rock – with a capital R. Sixties garage rock combined with the wahwah-indie of Dinosaur Jr. and the mindbending shoegazer by Spacemen 3.'-Full review at Lords of Metal.
Second full-length through TeePee Records.
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Sunday, March 27, 2011
[日向武史]
あひるの空 第29-30巻
[千田衛人]
花咲くいろは 第01巻
[乾良彦]
鬼道天外 かなめ 第01巻
[椎名軽穂]
君に届け 第13巻
[モリタイシ]
まねこい 第01-02巻
[宇仁田ゆみ]
マニマニ
[蜷川ヤエコ]
モノノ怪 第01-02巻(完)
[西義之]
ムヒョとロージーの魔法律相談事務所 第01-11巻
[高橋秀武]
野獣は眠らず 第01巻
[連打一人]
王様ゲーム 第01-02巻
[渡辺航]
弱虫ペダル 第01-15巻
[衣谷遊 x Production I.G]
攻殻機動隊 Stand Alone Complex 第01-02巻
[あづまゆき]
SCHOOLMATE 第01-03巻
[岡田芽武]
SHADOW SKILL 第01-05巻 +
[宇仁田ゆみ]
スキマスキ
[清涼院流水×大塚英志×箸井地図]
探偵儀式 第01-05巻
[矢吹健太郎x長谷見沙希]
ToLOVEる ダークネス 第01巻
[長谷川哲也]
ナポレオン -獅子の時代- 第01-14巻
Quest For Fire - Quest For Fire (2008)
'You would think that playing in bands for a decade, and touring constantly in shitty vans, might instill the desire to make your new project a lucrative one. This however, hasn’t crossed the minds of the four members of Toronto’s Quest For Fire. The sonic assault that these guys unleash onto unsuspecting listeners in a live setting, through their sometimes 10+ minute journeys is pure power. A contemporary take on classic rock and psychedelia. ' -TeePee Records
Hypnotic psyched out goodness from Toronto, Canada. Light one up for this highly underrated gem on the marvelous TeePee Records (Ancestors, The Sword, Danava, Naam, Earthless,...).
myspace.com/questforfireband
Physical needs: here & here (US)
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Saturday, March 26, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Jack And The Bearded Fishermen - Places To Hide (2011)
'Following their formation in 2005, these gentle, not-so-hairy fishermen have sailed the East coast of France under the undisputed authority of their captain Jack. Though the crew of this intruiging ship may have changed slightly at their last few ports of call, they are currently docked in Besançon, their helm still fixed firmly in the same direction. Taking into their itinery the nehanderthal blues, they will cross through troubled waters and musical fury. They will navigate between melody and impatience, skirting still pools of tension and waves of explosion...'
Another great request from France. These guys play the heavy/ alternative stoner rock. An epic, fresh & influenced sound in the likes of Dozer, QOTSA,.. hard to describe actually, I noticed there are some interesting patterns in some of the tracks. Some post-metal (think Isis, Pelican) came to mind, take the mighty instrumental conclusion of the second track for example. All in all this is a great album in a solid production!
jackandthebeardedfishermen.bandcamp.com
myspace.com/jackandthebeardedfishermen
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Problems with water? Call the Dutch!!!
New Orleans' levee fortifications and Dubai's prestigious island project appear to have little in common, until you realise that both rely on Dutch water management expertise. Today's World Water Day reminds us of the importance of handling water masses.
The theme of World Water Day, which is being held in Cape Town, is Water for Cities.
Deltas
More than half the world's population lives in cities. Many of these are below sea level, and hence vulnerable to the effects of climate change, mostly flooding.
The Dutch know what it means to live in a delta - in their case, the confluence of the Rhine, Schelde and Meuse rivers which all flow into the North Sea in the southwest of the country. The Dutch experience has bred generations of experts, and Dutch experts today are helping solve water problems all over the world. They are involved in an estimated 40 percent of all water projects worldwide.
In the Netherlands there are over 2000 companies, research institutes and government offices which are specialised in water-related subjects. They employ 80,000 people who guarantee a turnover of billions of euros. After all, one third of the country is below sea level, so it's no surprise that Dutch history has been shaped by the need to keep the water out.
Tragedy
The great flood of 1953, vividly remembered to this day, killed 1830 people and scores more in neighbouring countries. Over 70,000 people become homeless. The tragedy ultimately led to the Delta Project, with barrages and dikes built to protect the estuaries of the delta in the southwestern Netherlands. It has been called one of the most revolutionary hydrological projects in the world.
The knowledge gathered in the Netherlands is applied at projects like Water Mondial, involving Mozambique, Egypt, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
The theme of World Water Day, which is being held in Cape Town, is Water for Cities.
Deltas
More than half the world's population lives in cities. Many of these are below sea level, and hence vulnerable to the effects of climate change, mostly flooding.
The Dutch know what it means to live in a delta - in their case, the confluence of the Rhine, Schelde and Meuse rivers which all flow into the North Sea in the southwest of the country. The Dutch experience has bred generations of experts, and Dutch experts today are helping solve water problems all over the world. They are involved in an estimated 40 percent of all water projects worldwide.
In the Netherlands there are over 2000 companies, research institutes and government offices which are specialised in water-related subjects. They employ 80,000 people who guarantee a turnover of billions of euros. After all, one third of the country is below sea level, so it's no surprise that Dutch history has been shaped by the need to keep the water out.
Tragedy
The great flood of 1953, vividly remembered to this day, killed 1830 people and scores more in neighbouring countries. Over 70,000 people become homeless. The tragedy ultimately led to the Delta Project, with barrages and dikes built to protect the estuaries of the delta in the southwestern Netherlands. It has been called one of the most revolutionary hydrological projects in the world.
The knowledge gathered in the Netherlands is applied at projects like Water Mondial, involving Mozambique, Egypt, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
When the levee broke - New Orleans, 2005
Photo: Wikimedia
Katrina
The US city of New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, leading to widespread loss of life and enormous damage. Dutch technology is being used to reinforce levees and build storm barriers.
Dutch companies are also involved in the world's biggest dredging project called "The World", consisting of 300 artifical islands to be built off the Dubai coast, depicting the world. The project has been suspended because of the financial crisis.
A Dutch technique for purifying sewage water is being used in Australia, the United States and China. The method involves a special design of hydraulic tank.
And you can't catch them young enough: three Dutch schoolchildren developed a pump which does not just dispense water, but desinfects it, and the jerrycans, when it operates. The pump is being tested in Ghana.
Crown prince
Crown Prince Willem Alexander is representing the Netherlands at the World Water event in South Africa. He said he hopes that World Water Day will make people more aware of water-related problems.
What such awareness can achieve, is illustrated by a few simple figures: the Dutch population has grown by 11 percent since 1990, but water use in that same period increaded by just 1 percent. In 1990 each Dutch citizen used 131 litres per year; by 2009 that had gone down to 119 litres.
-Shared by Hans A H C De Wit
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Second Gear Grind - Grayscale (2010)
'The Long awaited second EP from Christchurch, New Zealand's Second Gear Grind 'Grayscale' has been released with three brand new tracks of seventies-esque, dark and painfully heavy rock.
"Fans of Kyuss and Down will not be disappointed with this. Second Gear Grind immediately fuse elements of '70 and '90s rock almost seamlessly - there is nothing force here. Dirty rock'n'roll... It's nothing if not rousing." Ania Glowacz, 2009 - www.nzmusician.co.nz
Grayscale is on sale at Pennylane Records Colombo St, through their myspace page or at www.stonerdoom.co.nz and for online order through the Heavy Down Under webstore - who also ship internationally.' -http://www.christchurchmusic.org.nz
Second EP, limited to 500 copies.
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Second Gear Grind - Fistful Of Silver (2008)
Powerful Southern fueled stoner/doom from Christchurch, New Zealand. For those who dig the grooves of Blind Dog, Down, COC, Burden,..
'Over the last few years Second Gear Grind has gained a reputation for playing loud and spirited live shows down the length of New Zealand, with an array of bands, seeking to further exposure throughout the country but also across the Tasman as part of an ever growing link between New Zealand and Australian rock bands. The band has recently secured support for American touring bands The Melvins and High on Fire.'
myspace.com/secondgeargrind
Physical needs: heavydownunder.bigcartel.com
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Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Kader Abdolah, a Dutch Iranian writer
“When I write, I’m on the frontline against dictatorship.” The Iranian-Dutch writer Kader Abdolah, who has just completed his latest historical novel De Koning [The King], sees clear parallels between 19th-century Persia and modern-day Iran under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Only now, he predicts, the regime that follows will be democratic not dictatorial.
“I wanted to write a story about my great-great-grandfather. He served as grand vizier or prime minister during Iran’s industrial revolution in Iran and he was murdered,” explains Kader Abdolah.
“My aim was to write about the vizier, but the shah or king turned out to be a better subject. I suspect the king was more important. In the king, I even discovered myself.”
Abdolah’s new novel De Koning is situated in Iran (formerly Persia), the land of his birth. It was also the setting for his internationally acclaimed book The House of the Mosque in 2005. His focus has now turned to the period of major change in the second half of the 19th century, with the advent of the telegraph, the railways, electricity and state reforms.
The shah or king reluctantly surrendered to technological innovation. But he wanted nothing to do with a parliament and a constitution, despite the urgent appeals from his grand vizier– who ruled the country on his behalf.
Such was his resistance that he ordered the murder of the grand vizier, great-great-grandfather. But eventually, the shah himself perished at the hands of an opponent. This is the tale Abdolah tells in De Koning.
New dictators
Kader Abdolah sees parallels between the past and the present.
“In the shah of yesteryear I discovered the men and their power: Gaddafi, Mubarak, Khomeini.”
Dynasties crumbled as a result of the technological changes at that time, but they were essentially replaced by new dictators. The writer believes that this is where the present parts company with the past.
“Now there is Facebook. These dictatorships are no longer able to hold back freedom of speech. Facebook will remove Gaddafi, Muburak and the ayatollahs, and bring a new kind of democracy.”
Language of censorship
Kader Abdolah himself fled the Iran of the ayatollahs, because his life was in danger as a writer, a journalist and a member of the underground opposition. In 1988 he came to the Netherlands with his family. His own language, Persian, had become the language of censorship and so he resolved to write only in Dutch.
While the reformists in Iran are still being mercilessly combated and suppressed, Kader Abdolah has hope for the future of his homeland:
“Iran is one of the most important democracies in the Middle East. The revolutions in Egypt and Libya are superficial: Mubarak is gone, but the structure of dictatorship remains in Egypt. But in Iran there is a movement that goes right down to the foundations. It may take 30 or 40 years, but democracy will take root in people’s genes. In 20 years’ time, we will have a strong, fully formed democracy in my homeland,” he predicts.
Victory
Abdolah’s work has been translated into many languages. But in Iran, his books are banned. He sees the books he writes as weapons in a battle.
“When I write, I think of the people in Iran who fight against dictatorship. When I write I am on the frontline, in the vanguard against dictatorship. My books can be seen as literature, but they are also the true fight against the ayatollahs.”
The writer has a burning desire to return to his homeland one day. Will Kader Abdolah ever write in his mother tongue again?
“After 22 years I am no longer able to write in Persian. I can’t put my soul into it. I can only produce literature in Dutch. It’s painful, but that’s the turn my life has taken.”
Shared by Hans A.H.C De Wit
“I wanted to write a story about my great-great-grandfather. He served as grand vizier or prime minister during Iran’s industrial revolution in Iran and he was murdered,” explains Kader Abdolah.
“My aim was to write about the vizier, but the shah or king turned out to be a better subject. I suspect the king was more important. In the king, I even discovered myself.”
Abdolah’s new novel De Koning is situated in Iran (formerly Persia), the land of his birth. It was also the setting for his internationally acclaimed book The House of the Mosque in 2005. His focus has now turned to the period of major change in the second half of the 19th century, with the advent of the telegraph, the railways, electricity and state reforms.
The shah or king reluctantly surrendered to technological innovation. But he wanted nothing to do with a parliament and a constitution, despite the urgent appeals from his grand vizier– who ruled the country on his behalf.
Such was his resistance that he ordered the murder of the grand vizier, great-great-grandfather. But eventually, the shah himself perished at the hands of an opponent. This is the tale Abdolah tells in De Koning.
New dictators
Kader Abdolah sees parallels between the past and the present.
“In the shah of yesteryear I discovered the men and their power: Gaddafi, Mubarak, Khomeini.”
Dynasties crumbled as a result of the technological changes at that time, but they were essentially replaced by new dictators. The writer believes that this is where the present parts company with the past.
“Now there is Facebook. These dictatorships are no longer able to hold back freedom of speech. Facebook will remove Gaddafi, Muburak and the ayatollahs, and bring a new kind of democracy.”
Language of censorship
Kader Abdolah himself fled the Iran of the ayatollahs, because his life was in danger as a writer, a journalist and a member of the underground opposition. In 1988 he came to the Netherlands with his family. His own language, Persian, had become the language of censorship and so he resolved to write only in Dutch.
While the reformists in Iran are still being mercilessly combated and suppressed, Kader Abdolah has hope for the future of his homeland:
“Iran is one of the most important democracies in the Middle East. The revolutions in Egypt and Libya are superficial: Mubarak is gone, but the structure of dictatorship remains in Egypt. But in Iran there is a movement that goes right down to the foundations. It may take 30 or 40 years, but democracy will take root in people’s genes. In 20 years’ time, we will have a strong, fully formed democracy in my homeland,” he predicts.
Victory
Abdolah’s work has been translated into many languages. But in Iran, his books are banned. He sees the books he writes as weapons in a battle.
“When I write, I think of the people in Iran who fight against dictatorship. When I write I am on the frontline, in the vanguard against dictatorship. My books can be seen as literature, but they are also the true fight against the ayatollahs.”
The writer has a burning desire to return to his homeland one day. Will Kader Abdolah ever write in his mother tongue again?
“After 22 years I am no longer able to write in Persian. I can’t put my soul into it. I can only produce literature in Dutch. It’s painful, but that’s the turn my life has taken.”
Shared by Hans A.H.C De Wit
Seditius - Carne da Macello (2010)
'Defined as one of the most politically uncorrect new band in italian undegroud scene, Seditius are of course one the most interesting and fresh reality in the Belpaese. Started as a punk rock band in 2005, through these years Seditius have shared the stage with band such as D.O.A., UK Subs, Cripple Bastards, Skruigners, and now, after changing line up in 2008, are finally releasing their first album with the new line up.'
Dirty great tunes from Brianza, Italy. The rock of Church of Misery meets the roll Kvelertak, something like that? Anyhow, check out this highly energetic band!
Released on the Italian Rancore Records.
myspace.com/seditius
seditius.com
MP3@VBR
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Monday, March 21, 2011
Shellfin - Secondhand Family (2010)
(still) Trying to catch up with all the mighty band requests, so lots o new stuff this week! Starting with 'Shellfin' from Brisbane, Australia. Fat fuzzalicious hard rockin' tunes! For fans of Kyuss, Unida, Monster Magnet, Nebula, Dozer,.. Visit their Bandcamp page for more music & merch. 'Secondhand Family' is the band's debut full-length, released September 2010.
shellfin.bandcamp.com
myspace.com/shellfinmusic
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