Part Three: Skûtsjesilen, Suspicion, and the Art of Getting Lost October 2016. The invitation drifted in on an October tide, from Ulbe Zwaga himself, a man whose handshake carries the weight of Frisian tides and whose conditions are as non-negotiable as the North Sea. The catch? I’d have to join the Skûtsjesilen-a Frisian regatta, where…
“Magna Frisia & Midsummer”
Leeuwarden, July 2016 That summer, I was invited to stay at Tsjitske’s old monumental farmhouse, now home to Roos and her family. The accommodations were memorable: I slept in the back where cows once sheltered, beautifully transformed under Roos’s careful renovation. The shower, however, remained outside my comfort zone (in a horse stable), literally outside….
“From IUPAC to Tupac”
Chemistry, Creativity, and the Art of the Assist There are moments in life when you find yourself staring into the abyss of a teenager’s chemistry notebook, for example, and the abyss stares right back, full of cryptic formulas, half-erased scribbles, and the unmistakable scent of academic panic. Yesterday, I had one of those moments. The…
“Magna Frisia, Las Marinas & Magical Encounters”
Denia, Las Marinas, Spring 2015 One Sunday, seeking respite from routine, I ventured to a neighbouring beach with my granddaughter and son-in-law. Though I was in low spirits that day, something unexpected caught my eye: two little boys playing nearby. Their swimming trunks featured bright red, leaf-shaped symbols that initially resembled hearts. A moment later,…
“Bat, Bi, Hiru, Lau Bost, Sei, Zazpi”
The Long Game of Witches (and Outsiders Like Me) Sometimes I wonder if I speak a language that no one else hears. I’ve sat at tables thick with history-Valencian, Frisian, Sicilian, Euskera-where words are more than communication; they are vessels of memory, dignity, and belonging. At first, I was the outsider, attuned to the music…
“Always” Isn’t Forever: Power, Papacies, and the Dance of Kraftsidioten
History, with its sly grin, is always ready to remind us: “always” isn’t forever. We love to believe in the permanence of empires, of brands, of moral authorities—but the record suggests otherwise. The world’s stage is littered with the relics of those who mistook their moment for eternity. Consider the recent tremors in the global…
“Sulayman’s Persuasion, Rothschild’s Legacy, and the Fabric of Kwantum Hallen”
From Ants to Entrepreneurs: Amsterdam Stories of Humour, Heritage, and Human Connection Last night, I found myself caught between the mundane and the mythic. Hasna, my housekeeper, handed me a bag of ant persuasion; a “gentle magic” meant to coax the ants in my house to find a new spot. Before she left, she spoke…
“Consequences, Coin Tricks, and Velvet Divorces”
The Consequence of Sequences: A Mother’s Day Meditation The other day, after a short debrief on my recent ground-sliding/kissing incident (which I, quite reasonably, blamed on tripping over another dimension’s guilty Leprechaun), my daughter exclaimed, “Mother, how on earth did you not think of the consequences?” (These aftereffects of roaming a dust devil-filled thrift shop.)I…
“Beyond Binaries: Why Europe and Life Can’t Be Boxed In”
From German generals to quantum thinking, how old power games and new festivals reveal the absurdity of living by yesterday’s labels. “So, what do you do for a living?”It’s the kind of question that says more about the asker than the asked, polite little probe for status, intelligence, and, ultimately, whether you’re worth their time….
“1st May Day Musings on Masses and Manipulators”
Hoisting and Being Hoisted As mentioned in an earlier column, I once hoisted my neighbour from the curb—he looked as though he’d just gone twelve rounds with the garbage league. Yesterday, it was my turn. I was crossing the street, minding my own business, when a chorus of “oooohhhh” from across signalled that something had…
The C.O.M.C. Files 