Fake sneeze

Billy Crystal on the Muppets Tonight show… or how to make a spoof on the fake orgasm scene from When Harry Meets Sally… in a kids' programme!

"It's good to be heckling again"

Comedian Melton Berle tries to stand up against Statler and Waldorf, masters in the art of retorting:

Christmas Week: "Muppet Christmas Carol" (2)

I know I've already told you about my liking of The Muppet Christmas Carol; today I'd like to show you two of the songs but this time in French.

Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine)'s introduction:

Jacob and Robert Marley (Statler and Waldorf)'s song:

Note that Michael Caine is dubbed by Bernard Dhéran.


"Ça sent bon Noël" / "It feels like Christmas" (sung by Richard Darbois)

Pictures from Utrecht (3)

(Second part of my report on the excursion to the Hague.)

Paleis Noordeinde, Queen Beatrix’ official work-palace.

Just another statue, Willem III van Oranje if I'm not mistaken.



The coat of arms. (Great, I finally managed to use that phrase!)

The aforementioned Willem III.

The ridiculously ugly statue of Queen Wilhelmina.

Behind her on the stone you can read "Eenzaam maar niet alleen".

The Peace Palace, housing "the International Court of Justice (which is the principal judicial body of the United Nations), the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Hague Academy of International Law, and the extensive Peace Palace Library" (Wikipedia).


Still from Wikipedia (how useful!):

"The Palace is filled with many gifts of the different nations who attended the Second Hague Conference as a sign of their support. Among the gifts are a 3200 kilo vase from Russia, doors from Belgium, marble from Italy, a fountain from Denmark, wall carpets from Japan, the clock for the clock tower from Switzerland, persian rugs from Iran and wood from Indonesia and the United States of America. The palace also features a number of statues, busts and portraits of prominent peace campaigners from around the world and of all eras."

After seeing the Peace Palace we took a sneltram to Scheveningen, undoubtedly the Netherlands' most famous beach.

Even Statler and Waldorf go there on holiday! Take a closer look:

They seem to be a little bit lost…



The beach. (Of course you know what it is…)

Some of us were brave enough to take off their shoes and have their feet frozen by the chilly water of the North Sea.

A view from the beach. Notice that the buildings are quite high in comparison to the average.

This is evidence that I can walk on water. (And this reminds me of an interesting Chuck Norris fact: "Some say that Jesus walked on water, but Chuck Norris swam through land.")

The Scheveningen pier.

Magali and a German friend, Anna.

"Wanna sing, wanna sing,
Et puis beaucoup des mouettes
Wanna sing, wanna sing,
et un gros caca sur ma tête…"

Taallandschap! Here it is advise not to drown in four languages. How practical the Dutch are!



My friend Aslak playing around with a dog.



The esplanade, with its many restaurants and shops. (Quite like Belgium actually. Except that the fries looked awful and overexpensive.)


A view of the beach from the pier.

Idem.

Ibidem.

The big building is the Kurhaus — now an expensive hotel.


A casino on the pier.

The beach, once again.

One of the pier's extensions.

A "very original" view.

This is the place where we were waiting for the return tram to The Hague.

That's all folks!

Pictures from Utrecht (2)

Today I show you nearly all the pictures that I took while being on a trip in The Hague. This excursion was suggested by the lecturer of the Dutch Present-Day Society course, drs. Emmeline Besamusca. We met in the Utrecht Centraal station hall, and we took the train to The Hague, passing by Gouda. We arrived round 10 am and we then walked to the city's most famous square, simply called "Plein". There you can see a statue of the "Vader des vaderlands", Willem van Oranje.


There was a flee market on that day.

A view of the street where the Mauritshuis and one of the Parliament (or 'Staten-Generaal') entrances are located.

On the right you can a banner with Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, aka "the Mona Lisa of the North" or "the Dutch Mona Lisa").

The Ministry of Silly Walks. … Erm, no, of Justice.

The group is slowly entering the Parliament; we had to pass a security gate.

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the building, though. So here's the façade.



Yeah, even Burger King outlets are located in beautiful historic buildings…


Heading for the Binnenhof.


Of course, if you aren't yet in the Binnenhof, you're still in the Buitenhof…

Thee Ridderzaal (i.e. Knight's Hall), where the queen holds her annual speech at Prinsjesdag.



Walking past the Minister-president's office.

The Mauritshuis.



The hofvijver.






A streetcar on the Lange vijverberg.


One of the statues that you can find on the Lange vijverberg: Jantje from the song In Den Haag daar woont een graaf.

Drs. Besamusca tells us about the boy and even sings the song! (From Wikipedia:)

In Den Haag daar woont een graaf,

en zijn zoon heet Jantje.

Als je vraagt waar woont je pa,

dan wijst hij met zijn handje,

Met zijn vingertje, met zijn duim,

Op zijn hoed draagt hij een pluim,

Aan zijn arm een mandje,

Dag mijn lieve Jantje.

Statue of the (famous) Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, victim of one of the only political murders in the Netherlands.



Statue of Willem II van Oranje on the Buitenhof.



I'll show you the rest of the pictures tomorrow.