Let’s Make the Next 5 Years Count for the MDGs

Posted on 23 August 2010 by Arjan

A long time ago, when I was attending the Dutch version of secondary education, I was a delegate to the Model United Nations in The Hague twice. It was a great experience, which I can highly recommend to anyone. Not only did we have a week of fun, but it was also very interesting to actually experience how the real UN works. Next to that, it was a great opportunity to learn more about the countries we represented, and the problems the international community deals with. At the time, I believed firmly that international cooperation was the best way to address global problems, and my two THIMUN sessions only made that believe stronger.

Now, the UN is calling for Citizen Ambassadors, to get a different angle on how to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. These MDGs were set in 2000 by all the world’s countries on the Millennium Summit. Of course, I could not pass this opportunity by, to again try to experience from close by the inner workings of the UN, and uploaded this video as a response to the call for Citizen Ambassadors by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Now, let’s hope I win one of the six Ambassador posts, and get the possibility to represent all the volunteers and fund-raisers and anybody else who contributes to achieving the Millennium Development goals. I don’t know if it helps, but if you like the video on YouTube, that would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, the music in the video was made using GarageBand on my Mac, the font in the titles is Junction Regular from The League of Moveable Type.

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Summer Thunder in the City

Posted on 15 August 2010 by Arjan

Loud drums, bright flashes
from a summerheated storm.
Cleansed the city air.

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Baltic Postcards – Horseman of Mystery

Posted on 1 August 2010 by Arjan

Horseman of Mystery

Dear friends,

Saturday morning, or early afternoon, is a perfect time to run some errands. So, yesterday morning I went out for a little supermarket-post office-dry cleaners round. On the corner of our street and another, I saw some police officers preparing to block off the intersection. Being a man on a mission, I didn’t pay that much notice. Normally when they do such a thing, some black cars with tinted windows will rush by a bit later, without me being able to see who or what is flying by. So, off to the supermarket I went.

When I was done there, I had to pass the intersection again, just as the police stopped traffic and a man on a white horse (no, fellow Dutchies, it was not Sinterklaas) came out of the park and went right past me, followed by a handful of press people and a small crowd wearing Dinamo Riga shirts. The fun part of when you do not know what is going on, and still have a lot to learn about the customs in a new country of residence, you can guess what such things are about, and come up with something yourself. Even though the crowd was rather small, since the Horseman of Mystery was going in the direction of the Riga Arena, I thought this might be the traditional season opening of the immensely popular local professional hockey team (ice hockey, that is).

Anyway, after the procession had passed, I went on with my business and did not give it that much thought anymore. In the evening, I got a bit curious, and tried to find out what it was about. On the website of Diena, one of Latvia’s newspapers, I found what I was looking for. The Horseman of Mystery was Jūliuss Šuplers, the head coach of Dinamo Riga, who had lost a bet with one of the players, and was therefore obliged to ride a horse through the streets of Riga.

Sometimes reality is even more fun than things you can imagine.

Warm regards,
A

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En Route To Recovery

Posted on 27 July 2010 by Arjan

For the first time in over 2 months I ran again today (see my Nike+ run). The last two months, I was kept quiet by a knee injury (still not 100% clear, but most probably torn ligaments). The resting period consisted of two weeks of walking in a knee-immobilizer and a slow recovery by just walking a lot until I didn’t limp anymore. And now, since some days, I felt good enough to run again, but was held back by the risk it concerns. Running might not be the best thing to do for recovery of a knee injury, but the doctor said it would be okay to do. That was before he got the results of the MRI scan of my knee, which I still have to discuss with him, by the way.

Anyway, today was the first test. I decided a 2 km run would be good enough, especially in the warm and oppressive weather of Riga. It went well. My knee kept itself fine, and did not complain. Now let’s see how it will act today and tomorrow. So I can start real training again.

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Baltic Postcards – The Mangalsala Jetty in Exploration Weekend

Posted on 26 July 2010 by Arjan

The Mangalsala Jetty

Dear Friends,

In five months you can actually grow into daily routines in a completely new place. A supermarket to do the daily groceries, a restaurant to have a quick bite, a park to walk the dog, a beach to enjoy the sea or sunbathe and read: you find one you like and half-automatically stick with it. Out of ease, mainly. And sometimes, that means you miss out on things. That is why this weekend we put on our exploring flip-flops (it is still quite tropical in Riga), and discovered some new things.

It started with an Indian restaurant in the Old Town on Friday night. The food was excellent, as was the company. Saturday, instead of again going to Jurmala, we drove to Vecāķi‎ to enjoy the very clean beach and swim in the relatively warm but algea laden water. Afterwards we drove to Mangalsala to fight of the biting bugs and walk on the Mangalsala (or Eastern) Jetty and see the Daugava flow into the Baltic Gulf, that a bit further out was tormented by lightning strikes.

Sunday we enjoyed the relative calm of Vakarbulli beach, where the water was very clear. And very cold.

All in all, a great and relaxing weekend.

Warm regards,
Arjan

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De Paraplu Performs At Opening Of RMHC Care Mobile

Posted on 20 July 2010 by Arjan

Last Saturday, 17 July, Latvia’s first RMHC Care Mobile was officially opened. During the opening Vermanes Park, circus theatre De Paraplu (the Umbrella) from the Netherlands was giving juggling lessons to children of all ages (yes, me included). Afterwards, they gave a performance in the Radisson Blu Hotel Elizabete. A great example of modern circus.

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Some Observations of the 2010 World Cup

Posted on 2 July 2010 by Arjan

The first stage is done, as is the Round of 16. For 19 consecutive days the beautiful game has dominated news channels, social media, and yes, also a bit my life. Now that we are about to roll into the quarterfinals, after two footballless days, it’s a good time to share some observations.

Although the continent had high hopes, African football was not energized enough by having the final tournament in Africa for the first time. South Africa missed a chance to go through, Nigeria failed, Cameroon and Algeria were almost invisible. And from Cote d’Ivoire, despite being put in a group with Portugal and Brazil, could not impress. Only Ghana suvived until now. And they have a chance.

For the outfitters of the teams, Adidas has been most succesful so far. With 4 teams in the quarter finals, and sure to have 1 in the final. Nike and Puma both have 2 teams left, and are already sure to both have 1 in the semis. More stats: Africa has 1 team left, Europe 3 and South America 4.

The big stars haven’t yet displayed their magic. Cristiano Ronaldo could not really impress, Kaka had brilliant moments, but his 2 yellows in one match were his most memorable moment so far. Messi tried, but was cut down so far, with the negative extreme being Greece, how had 3 players trying to kick him whenever he had the ball. At least, so it seemed.
No, the biggest star of the tournament is not a player, nor a coach. Not even a referee. For me, the star of the tournament so far is the Vuvuzela. The monotonous blaring coming from the tv with each game makes one feel as if being in Africa itself. Even in the northern half of Europe. A quick look around the internet reveals that there is no Messi-button available for YouTube clips now, but a Vuvuzela button that adds the sound of Vuvuzela’s to the clip in question. And it’s not Ronaldo acting as the little yellow man to place on the map in Google street view, they simply gave him a Vuvuzela.

Then, there is the discussion of referees and technological aids. I think, that the referees showed that, just like the teams, some are skilled enough to act on this stage, and some are simply not. When the better referees are on the pitch, there is no demand for technology. For me, that is a great indicator that FIFA needs to invest in the human factor more than in technology.

Anyway, this Friday, we’re going into the quarter finals, kicking off with the match between the Netherlands and Brazil. As a true Oranje fan, I truly believe we have a chance against this Brazil.

Oh, and if you think African football, or Africa in general, should benefit from the worldcup, many special actions are going on. By sponsors, the FIFA, the teams (like the Orange Cruyff Court) and several charities. But, you can also act yourself, by supporting the football academy Right to Dream in Ghana through JustGiving: http://www.justgiving.com/ChangeThroughFootball.

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Why Mr Blatter Is Right This Time

Posted on 27 June 2010 by Arjan

The first half of the 2010 World Cup round of 16 match between England and Germany has just ended. And already we can say that this will be a match that will be spoken off in decades to come. Not only because after the 2-0 of Germany, the game exploded into a super exciting match. No, because a clear goal was not acknowledge by the referees. Many will speak of the decision of FIFA president Blatter to refuse allowing technology to act as a fourth referee. Off-side goals, or balls like the shot of Lampard in this match, they will all be ancient history if technology is introduced in the decision making process of the referees. No more talk of the disputable goal by Geoff Hurst, no more discussions about the hand of god. And even though sometimes decisions by the referees turn out to be highly unfair, it is all an intrinsic part of The Beautiful Game. Skill, goals, emotions. And human error. So, I truly hope, despite that I would have loved England to equalize in this first half, that Mr Blatter manages to keep technology at bay in this case.

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Baltic Postcards – Ligatne Ferry

Posted on 13 June 2010 by Arjan

Ligatnes Parceltuve

Dear friends,

Latvia has a beautiful countryside, with many national parks, like the Gaujas National Park, just east of Riga. The Gaujas is a relatively small river that runs through it. Several towns an villages are located in the park that are worth the visit. Sigulda for the castle and the bob sleigh track is just one example. Another reason to visit this park, is to cross the Gaujas on the Ligatne ferry (parceltuve in Latvian). An unique river crossing on a raft that is powered basically by the river’s flow, corrected by the hands of the ferry master. Two cars fit on the raft, and normally it’s not that busy. But just for this experience, it’s worth the drive from Riga.

All the best,
A.

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An Important Orange Envelope

Posted on 8 June 2010 by Arjan

On June 9th there are parliamentary elections in the Netherlands. It will be an interesting day, and most probably the current Prime Minister will be ousted. Time for a change. From our current home town, Riga, we sent in our votes a little while ago, in the designated orange envelope. As Dutch citizens, we have the right to vote in the Dutch parliamentary elections, even if Dutch policy has a declining influence on our day-to-day lives. And vice versa. Living abroad automatically brings distance. And in some cases, I am more interested in having a right to vote here in Latvia, where I have a business, than in my home country.

And that makes it interesting. I think we are just two of many people that have chosen, and are fortunate enough, to live in another country. As part of our new societies we pay taxes, earn and spend money locally and are governed by the local rules and regulations. Since Latvia is, as the Netherlands, an EU member state, more and more of these rules and regulations come from, or are inspired by, Brussels. Still, with my vote I can only assert influence on the Dutch rules, and on the participation of political parties registered in the Netherlands for the European arena. Increasingly, this seems strange to me. Following the debates surrounding the elections, and the issues that are apparently important, I feel a declining degree of interest, and a growing disconnect between the things I think are important, and Dutch society. Especially since campaigns and politics are more and more focused on winning the next elections in stead of governing the country in a sustainable way. Maybe in Europe it is time to change the assigning of democratic rights not only to citizens (I am a Dutch national, and there are things I still want to exercise my democratic right for), but also to registered residents. Because those are the people that are governed by the elected government. And also, it would be time for truly pan-european political parties. Those that are not focused on national visions, limitations and power bases, but political parties that focus on what is best for the whole of Europe. It might be a bit controversial for some, but what we sometimes forget is that European model is a great example of how to bring peace to a region through economic cooperation.

So, whoever brings that to the table in the next Dutch elections, will be very likely to find her voted for in my next orange envelope.

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