The Dutch: Trying to Make Depressing Nihilism Fun since 1962

Thanks to Radio Netherlands' review of leading Dutch newspapers, we can always be certain that Vaudeville isn't dead.

«A cartoon on the front page of the NRC Handelsblad shows the [Space Shuttle Discovery] astronauts conversing with each other while they are waiting for the signal to return to Earth. One says to the other: "Can we land or do we have to wait till oil prices go down?"»

Morons. This little bit of humor attempts to poke fun at one of the only successful and usable hydrogen powered vehicles around.

«A totally different sort of entertainment 'culture' is the subject of front page stories in the mass-circulation dailies, the Telegraaf and Algemeen Dagblad, where we read that a new Dutch commercial television broadcaster will soon be airing a contest in which male contestants compete with each other to become the sperm donor for a woman who wants a baby. The show, called 'I want your child and nothing else'.»

They used to call that falling in love, trying to get married and honestly facing oneself by having a full and sincere life with one that you love. The eternally confused post-natural types (particularly in northern Europe) are reduced to trying to live a normal life through analogies, and vicariously through TV characters at that.