harlekins spirit

The thing about decisions

I often get the urge to write in reaction to things that have a negative impact on me. Not necessarily just aggravations. Often it is people making things too easy for themselves. I notice time and again, for example, that there are spelling mistakes on many signs, or that journalists, who ought to be trained in this area, cannot get their grammar right. I’m neither a language specialist nor a purity fetishist, but I do believe that it doesn’t hurt to at least make an effort when you do something. It makes your own statements and actions a lot more credible.

How not to get your feet wet…

This emancipated woman obviously had not heard that according to Christian conviction only Jesus could walk on water. The most ingenious home-made filter system I have ever seen, together with a “guardian angel” – what a day.

(The picture was taken in 2012 while visiting the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing – also known as “the Egg”. )

Anything that is not forbidden is permitted…

…that’s what we thought until now. Far from it! As this sign from Switzerland proves, whatever is allowed must first be permitted. Or are we Swiss so meek that we have to be explicitly persuaded to do something legitimate?

Better is the enemy of the good.

Only companies that constantly question themselves and have the courage to make new discoveries and break fresh ground remain stable. Joseph Schumpeter’s concept of “creative destruction” is more relevant than ever!

Who has the courage to do this?

(This sign seen hanging on the fence of a major construction site at Coventry Railway Station.)

Zigger zagger

“Zigger-zagger, zigger-zagger, oi oi oi!” is a battle cry that has been used for ages in sports and booze-ups. (Apparently originating in Germany and since adopted by Chelsea FC supporters.) Here now especially adapted for open air sex: ” Zigger-zagger, zigger-zagger hay hay hay”.

What we believe tourists are capable of from personal experience…

Probably precaution rather than experience. Neither in 2018 nor in 2019 were there any reports of death from haute couture. But there were a number of base jumper fatalities – but you can’t really say they look that well-dressed.

Snapshots en route

The Harlequin team says goodbye for the summer holidays. We wish you and ourselves a great time – and lots of inspiration for new contributions. Once again this year we‘ll publish a short article every Friday during the holidays, this time with the motto “Snapshots en route”. Here the first one:

When the trees wear surgical masks…

… you stop in fascination when strolling by. I am often out and about in the woods in all seasons, this was my first encounter with this trend in nature.

Apparently nature moves with the times too.

English translation of all snapshot texts: BCO

The sausage without skin – interesting facts about the Dutch “frikandel“

In my series on Dutch “specialities” I have so far owed you the frikandel. That will change today.

The frikandel is the most commonly consumed fried snack in the Netherlands (it even beats croquettes and bitter bal!s) and the first thing you need to know about it is that it has absolutely nothing to do with the German Frikadel!e (For the unitiated: the Frikadelle is a kind of fried meatball) The frikandel is a kind of sausage without skin and for many years it was considered a “guilty pleasure”, because all sorts of questionable ingredients were attributed to it. Among other things, it was said to have cow’s eyes, ears and udders.

The new normality?

What an awful term, it has been haunting me for some time now. Why? Well, I find it highly problematic – and I would like to share the background to it with you.

Art is beautiful, but it’s a lot of work.

When I read the quote from Karl Valentin this morning, I had to think of us Harlequins and our Harlequin.blog. Because even small works of art are a lot of work.

For more than 3 years we have been writing, inexperienced but eager-to-learn “fumblers in the dartk”, and have published a new text every Friday. Each author follows his own path. Some look at IT and change projects with their consulting glasses, others discover stylistic howlers in (real?) life and others philosophise about all the world and his wife. With time we have built a list of guest authors who like writing for our Harlekin.Blog.