This reprise article appeared in 2001 in Het Fiancieel Dagblad English Edition in Amsterdam
I’ll fight you for my pair. Nothing is easier to slip on to take out the trash, bring in the mail or wander around in the garden. They provide a surprisingly comfortable fit yet are a bulky enough reminder to remove when [...]
Never Wear Klompen to a Cattle Round-up
Posted on 24 May 2009 by Denis Campbell | Comments (0) | Tags: Dutch, Holland, klompen, The Netherlands, wooden shoes
Budweiser, Leuven Belgium
Posted on 21 May 2009 by Denis Campbell | Comments (0) | Tags: ABN-AMRO, Belgians, Brahma Beer, Bud logo, Budweiser, Carl Icahn, CEO of Yahoo!, Champion's League, Cobra, Czech Bud, Dannon yogurt, Danone in France, Dutch-British consortium, Flanders' Field, flex global financial muscles, Fortis Group, Giant Supermarket, Grolsch, Guinness, Heineken, Holland's biggest bank, In-Bev St Louis, Jerry Yang, Labatts, Microsoft, Mutual of Omaha, Oklahoma vs. Texas style), owned by ING Group, Royal Ahold, Shell, St. Louis, Stella Artois, The Netherlands, upset, walked away from $46.5 billion dollars, Washington
Reprise from spring 2008 - When The King of Beers became Belgian owned, we all paused…
Like Labatts and Brahma Beer before her, Stellaaaa’s! (Artois that is) parent company In-Bev got thirsty and gulped down St. Louis, Missouri based Budweiser Beer in one chug for a cool $52 billion dollars. Ouch.
Long the butt of Dutch jokes [...]
Remembering May’s Sacrifices
Posted on 06 May 2009 by Denis Campbell | Comments (0) | Tags: Amsterdam, Apeldoorn, dodenherdenking, Liberation Day, Queen Beatrix, Queens Day attack, The Netherlands
by Denis Campbell
Early May in The Netherlands is a time of painful remembrance and quiet contemplation. From Amersfoort to Alphen a/d Rijn, Zelhem to Zevenaar, at 8 pm on the Eve of Liberation Day the entire nation comes to a standstill for 2 minutes. Pictured is my 9-year old niece Ilse Bullee and other Scouts [...]
SEX - USA and UK Top of Table
Posted on 08 April 2009 by Denis Campbell | Comments (1) | Tags: abstinence only, AIDS, Bristol and Levi, Bristol Palin, Queen Victoria, Russian Roulette, Srah Palin, STD's, teen pregnancy, The Netherlands, Time magazine, Tyra Banks, UN National Vital Statistics Report
Statistics from the UN’s National Vital Statistics Report confirm the USA at 42.5 births per 100 girls aged 15-19 and the UK at 26.7 sit atop the global table! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
Governor Sarah Palin’s official spokesperson expressed “shock and dismay” Monday that father of 1st grandson Levi went on Tyra Banks’ Show and said Her [...]
Watching the Ice Thicken…
Posted on 10 January 2009 by Denis Campbell | Comments (0) | Tags: 11-cities course, 120 miles, 16th time since 1909, 199 kilometre long, 1997, a time that was less than half that of the original win, bestowing national honour and lifetime fame on the winn, Brussels sprouts farmer (his day job) Henk Angenent, Burgermeesters (we call them mayors), circuitous route through and around Friesland, decked out all in Orange and make a frightful amount of, Denis Campbell, Dutch crown Prince Willem-Alexander also competed, Dutch fans, dutifully and solemnly each day walk out onto the route, each weekend on Nederland 1 one can watch wall-to-wall, Elfstedentoch, ends in the appropriately named Workum, four top marathon-skaters to the team, Friesland, Frisia, held so infrequently, Henk Angenent (’97 winner), Holland, icy deep freeze, Jan-Eise Kromkamp, Leeuwarden, Mokkum, nation’s biggest sporting event, natural gas shortages, obsessed with skating, Piet Kleine (a national icon as well), René Ruitenberg, requisite thickness of 15 centimetres (about 6 inches), Russia’s Gazprom dispute with the Ukraine, serious business, Sneek, The Netherlands, the race will be held, top cyclist coach Hennie Kuiper became coach of a Dutch, truly the best in the world, Watching the Ice Thicken, where it all started just 7-hours earlier, winter grips Northern Europe, won the race in 6 hours and 49 minutes
By Denis Campbell
While winter grips Northern Europe with an icy deep freeze and many look nervously to possible natural gas shortages as Russia’s Gazprom dispute with the Ukraine lingers, the residents of The Netherlands’ northernmost province of Friesland look anxiously forward to this coming week as the mercury has dipped each night to -18 (about [...]
Oh Ca-na-da, Your Par-lia-ment’s a Mess
Posted on 10 December 2008 by Denis Campbell | Comments (1) | Tags: a real foodfight in Ottawa, banded together to form a fragile and unholy alliance, best national anthem on the planet, Christian Democrats, Conservative PM Stephen (who?) Harper, Denis Campbell, enough seats to topple the existing government, Her Majesty’s Governor General, led by Harry Potter lookalike Jan Peter Balkenende, Liberals, must happen by May of 2010 when Tony Blair’s third term, New Democrats, not exactly “change we can believe in”, Oh Canada, outflanked, Parliaments are quite simple constructs, party with the most seats forming a clear majority runs, preview for the British Parliamentary elections, Quebecois (yes the secessionists still exist God love ‘, Quite a stunt to pull in the midst of financial meltdow, sport of Parliament watching around the world such fun, style and degree of difficulty points for this dive mak, suspend Parliament for 30-days, The Netherlands, the Queen’s representative in Canada, three parties came together and formed a coalition gove, True Patriot’s Love my A**, unless you live in Canada where you just want to throw, xenophobic party led by Pim Fortuyn. charismatic politi, Your Par-lia-ment’s a Mess
By Denis Campbell
True Patriot’s Love my A**. A country with clearly the best national anthem on the planet (go to a hockey game eh and listen in awe as a great local baritone belts it out), has got itself a real foodfight there in Ottawa eh? The ruling Conservative PM Stephen (who?) Harper was outflanked [...]
Fiction is Better Than This Reality
Posted on 23 September 2008 by Denis Campbell | Comments (0) | Tags: 1973, 1995 Srebrenica, a new White House, agendas, antithesis of cynicism, Better Than This Reality, chase my own higher angels, Close-Up program, crooks, Denis Campbell, Dutch UN Peacekeeping troops stood by, Elliott Richardson resigned, emotion, faith the truth would come out, Fiction, Fictional President Bartlett, fire the special prosecutor, freshman senator from Delaware, frog-marched out of the Oval Office, Gingrich Revolution, government as it should be, great writers and editorialists, happened in private, hotel newsstand, justice and accountability, Karl Rove, Kosovo massacre, liars, lobbyist for UBS, looting of the Treasury, Minister of Treasury Paulson, Minister-President Wim Kok, Mr. Phil Gram, Muslim men and boys, neither he nor Nixon would be gone because our own stan, no CNN, not the fodder of tabloid journalism or dramatic televi, our moral compass was thrown out with the trash, Pennsylvania, polls, President Nixon, pull puppet strings for Bush 43, read newspapers, Season 1 Episode 5, see moments here of pure inspiration, Senator Burke, Senator Heinz, Serbian troops statement of honour, slimy ads, something bad happens on my watch, speeches, spin, subway between the Capitol and Senate Office buildings, take personal responsibility, the buck stops here, The Netherlands, The West Wing, thieves, torrid affair with television’s Barbara Walters, truly focused on Country First as more than a slogan, two young kids from Massachusetts, Washington, Washington Post, Watergate, were no one else’s business, without a shred of dignity or decency, works for the Nigerians
by Denis Campbell
“What will be the next thing that challenges us? That makes us work harder and go farther? You know, when smallpox was eradicated, it was considered the single greatest humanitarian achievement of this century. Surely, we can do it again. As we did in the time when our eyes looked towards the heavens, [...]
16-Days of Oranje Celebration
Posted on 23 August 2008 by Denis Campbell | Comments (0) | Tags: 000 Oranje clad spectators, 10th in the medal pool, 16-Days, 2, 2000, 6 mile+, all was forgiven, Americans looked at silver as if someone had spit in th, Athens, Australians were gleeful, BBC, BBC Radio Five, Beijing, beside themselves with joy, China, come-from-behind effort, Coronado California, Dutch know how to throw a party, Dutch passport, Dutch sports reporter Jack van Gelder, Dutch women’s water polo team, epic battle, etire community backed two young US women, Eurosport (German), extraordinary, Germany, grace in defeat, hanging display of lamps, Holland House, hottest Olympic ticket, Kayak racing, lack of class and celebration, Lance Armstrong, less ridiculous nation baiting in winning, leukaemia survivor, Maarten van der Weijden, McCain and George Bush, men's 10k Open Water event, Michael Phelps, nation’s joy was uncontainable, NBC, near mourning, NOS (Dutch), NOS Studio Sport Olympic set, number 2 is forgotten, Number one ranked Team USA, Opening or Closing Ceremonies, Oranje, paper Chinese ornament, parties so festive and long, Peter van den Hoogenband, second best team in the world, signed by each medallist, Sydney, Sydney Harbour, team Oranje danced and sang, The Netherlands, two hour long race, upset, Wale's David Davies, winning his own set of gold medals
The Dutch know how to throw a party. In 2000 in Sydney, the hottest Olympic ticket was not to the Opening or Closing Ceremonies. It was to Holland House beside Sydney Harbour where the parties were so festive and long that athletes from other countries clamoured to join in and one eventually had to produce [...]
The Windmill Keeper
Posted on 20 July 2008 by Denis Campbell | Comments (0) | Tags: checking the wind, craftsmen, flour mill, Holland, Jos Jansen, Laren, Lochem, The Netherlands, Windmill, windmill keeper, woodworkers
(Reprise post)
He was the butcher in the Dutch country town of Laren. As days became years and years decades, he served customers and dreamed of finding something else to do with his life. When he and his wife sold their shop, he faced a dilemma. I’m too young to retire, what should I do with [...]
Oil Villains, Look in the Mirror
Posted on 07 July 2008 by Denis Campbell | Comments (0) | Tags: $150 a barrel oil, $4.50+ a gallon at the pump, 24/7/366, 65% imported, Al Gore, central air conditioning, Dick Cheney, former governemnt officials, full speed, George W. Bush, Nissan Pathfinder, offices, oil executives, oil fired megawatt hours, Oil Villains, point fingers, reduce energy dependence, SUVs the size of small homes, television pundits, The Netherlands, USA woke up, Washington blame game
Al Gore in April said of plans to extract oil from shale, “a junkie injects drugs between their toes when the veins in their arms collapse.” We’ve talked for decades about needing to reduce energy dependence whilst driving SUVs the size of small homes, living in uninhabitable southern areas where silence is impossible with central [...]

Wiley and Non Squitur cuts too close to the quick for many.













































