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Acda En De Munnik

Acda en de Munnik

Acda en de Munnik (Acda and de Munnik) is a Dutch cabaret and music duo, Thomas Acda and Paul de Munnik . While their songs in Dutch are musically simple and well-crafted, the texts are most important. Striking is the harmony between both their voices. At the Amsterdamse Toneel & Kleinkunstacademie they were advised to listen carefully to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. When they just started, their voices have also occasionally been compared to those of Simon and Garfunkel. By now they have developed their own recognizable style.

Albums

- 1997 Acda En De Munnik (Acda And De Munnik)
- 1997 Zwerf'On (Roam'On)
- 1998 Naar Huis (To [Go] Home)
- 1999 Op Voorraad Live (Life In Stock)
- 2000 Hier Zijn (Be Here)
- 2001 Live Met Het Metropole Orkest (Life With The Metropolitan Orchestra)
- 2002 Trilogie (Trilogy)
- 2002 Groeten Uit Maaiveld (Greetings From Groundlevel)
- 2004 Liedjes van Lenny (Songs from Lenny) The album Groeten Uit Maaiveld is the first album by Acda en de Munnik that was produced without first performing the songs in theater. Together with Liedjes van Lenny this album forms the base of the rock comedy Ren Lenny Ren (Run Lenny Run).

Hit Summary

Based on data from the Dutch Top 40, with translations of the titles
- 1998 #2 Niet of nooit geweest (Haven't been, never was)
- 1998 #22 Laat me slapen (Let me sleep)
- 1998 tip Het regent zonnestralen (It's raining sunbeams)
- 1999 tip Ol' 55 (a cover of the Tom Waits classic)
- 2000 #24 De Kapitein (deel 2) (The Captain (part 2))
- 2001 tip Verkeerd verbonden (Wrong number)
- 2002 #17 Ren Lenny ren (Run Lenny run)
- 2003 #10 Groeten uit Maaiveld (Greetings from Mediocrity)
- 2003 #30 Mis ik mij (I miss me)
- 2004 #40 Vandaag ben ik gaan lopen (Today I started walking)
- 2004 #36 Totdat ik jou (Until I [saw] you)

External links

- [http://www.acdaendemunnik.nl Official site of Acda en de Munnik] (Dutch)

Netherlands

The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland; IPA pronunciation: /"ne:dərlant/) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that is formed by the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). The Netherlands is a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch, located in northwestern Europe. It borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east. In many countries, the Netherlands is often referred to by the name Holland, and even within the Netherlands itself this name is occasionally used as an acceptable translation of the country's name. However widespread, this usage is technically incorrect, as "Holland" is actually a region in the central-western part of the Netherlands, divided into two provinces. Also, the English plural form 'the Netherlands' is a remnant from times when the country was not yet independent and united. See below under 'naming conventions'. The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated and geographically low-lying countries in the world (its name literally means "low country") and is famous for its dikes, windmills, wooden shoes, tulips, bicycles and social tolerance. Its liberal policies (towards drugs and prostitution among other things) receive international attention. The country is host to the International Court of Justice. The English adjective and noun for "of or relating to the Netherlands" is "Dutch," which is also the name of the Dutch language. In the Netherlands, "Netherlands" is sometimes used as an adjective. The origin of this local usage may be that the Dutch word for "Dutch" is Nederlands and to avoid confusion with the words "Duits" (in Dutch) and "Deutsch" (in German) that refer to the country Germany and its language.

Capital

Amsterdam is the hoofdstad ("capital city"), where according to the constitution, the sovereign must be sworn in. The Hague is the Netherlands regeringszetel or residentie (seat of government, residence of the monarch). It is the seat of government, the home of the monarch, and the location of most foreign embassies.

History

:For more details on this topic, see History of the Netherlands and Dutch monarchy. Under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain, the region was part of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands, which also includes most of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and some land of France and Germany. In 1568 the Eighty Years' War started after the entire population had been condemned to death by the Holy See and confirmed by the king, and in 1579, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces declared itself independent and formed the Union of Utrecht, which is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands. Philip II, the son of Charles V, was not prepared to let them go that easily. It would not be until 1648 that Spain would recognize Dutch independence. After gaining formal independence from the Spanish Empire under King Philip IV, the Dutch grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers of the 17th century during the period of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. In the era, referred to as the Dutch Golden Age, colonies and trading posts were established all over the globe. (See Dutch colonial empire) Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country in the world. In early modern Europe it featured the wealthiest trading city (Amsterdam) and the first full-time stock exchange. The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as such less benign phenomena as the boom-bust cycle, the world's first asset-inflation bubble, the tulip mania of 1636-1637, and according to Murray Sayle, the world's first bear raider - Isaac le Maire, who forced prices down by dumping stock and then buying it back at a discount ("Japan Goes Dutch", London Review of Books [April 5, 2001]: 3-7). After briefly being incorporated in the First French Empire under Napoleon, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815, consisting of the present day Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. In addition, the king of the Netherlands became hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Belgium rebelled and gained independence in 1830, while the personal union between Luxembourg and the Netherlands was severed in 1890 as a result of ascendancy laws which prevented Queen Wilhelmina from becoming Grand Duke. The Netherlands possessed several colonies, most notably the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Suriname (the latter was traded with the British for New Amsterdam, now known as New York). These 'colonies' were first administered by the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, both collective private enterprises. Three centuries later these companies got into financial trouble and the territories in which they operated were taken over by the Dutch government (in 1815 and 1791 respectively). Only then did they become official colonies. During the 19th century, The Netherlands was slow to industrialize compared to neighboring countries, mainly due to its unique infrastructure of waterways and reliance on wind power. After remaining neutral in World War I, over 100,000 Dutch Jews were murdered in the Holocaust of World War II, along with significant numbers of Dutch Roma (gypsies). After the war, the Dutch economy prospered again, being a member of the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and European Economic Community unions. The Netherlands was among the twelve founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and among the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community, which would later evolve into the European Union.

Naming conventions

The name Holland is often used, incorrectly, for The Netherlands, especially in other languages. The origin of the misnomer lies in the fact that the region of Holland was the economic powerhouse during the time of the United Provinces (1581-1795). After the Napoleonic era, Holland became a mere province of the Kingdom and was split into North and South Holland in 1840. Many people, especially from the northern and southern provinces, object to the use of the name Holland for The Netherlands. But to avoid confusion when addressing other nationals, the Dutch themselves often use the name 'Holland'. The plural "Netherlands" is actually an archaic term, referring to the time when it was a collection of regions that were not yet fully united. In The Netherlands itself the country is called Nederland (literally meaning "low country"), the people are called Nederlanders ("Dutch" in English) and the language is called Nederlands (again, "Dutch" in English); the -s in Nederlands is not a plural ending, but rather is cognate to the English suffix -ish. The English word "Dutch" is akin to the German word Deutsch, which originally meant "(Language) of the (common) people" in contrast with the medieval elite who spoke Latin. An old term for the language of The Netherlands is Diets or Nederdietsch. All these terms derive from what in Latin was known as Theodisca, from Germanic
- Þeudiskaz.

Politics

The Netherlands has been a parliamentary democracy since 1848 and a constitutional monarchy since 1815; before that it had been a republic from 1581 to 1806 (it was occupied by France between 1806 and 1815). The pro forma head of state, since 1980, is Queen Beatrix of the House of Orange-Nassau. The Dutch monarch has little political power, but serves mostly as a ceremonial figurehead to represent the nation. Dutch governments always consist of a coalition, as there is not (and has never been) a single political party large enough to get the majority vote. Formally, the queen appoints the members of the government. In practice, once the results of parliamentary elections are known, a coalition government is formed (in a process of negotiations that can take several months), after which the government formed in this way is officially appointed by the queen. The head of the government is the Prime Minister, in Dutch Minister President or Premier, a primus inter pares who is usually also the leader of the largest party in the coalition. The degree of influence the queen has on actual government decision making is a topic of ongoing speculation. The parliament consists of two houses. The 150 members of the Lower House (Tweede Kamer, or Second Chamber) are elected every four years in direct elections. The provincial parliaments are directly elected every 4 years as well. The members of the provincial parliaments vote (indirectly) for the less important Senate (Eerste Kamer, or First Chamber). Together, the First and Second Chamber are known as the Staten Generaal, the States General. Political scientists consider The Netherlands a classic example of a consociational state, at least in part caused by the necessity in the Netherlands since the middle ages for different cities to cooperate in order to fight the water (different cities were at the time like different countries by today's standards, and often at war). This necessity to reach an agreement despite differences is called the polder model in Dutch. Also, the Netherlands has long been a nation of traders and for international trade one has to be tolerant of the other person's culture. The Netherlands is a neutral country in most international affairs and thus managed to keep out of World War I (although this did not work in World War II). As a result, the Dutch have a 'friendly' reputation in other countries, to the point that bearers of a Dutch passport often have relatively little difficulty getting into other countries, for visits or even for emigration purposes. However, the early years of the 21st century have seen a political change with the right wing in politics gaining on the left. This is illustrated by the quick rise (and fall) of the LPF. Pim Fortuyn, its founder, held former cabinets responsible for the failing integration of immigrants. The present government is led by the cabinet Balkenende II. This cabinet got some critique about economic reforms and the immigration policies. On June 1 2005 the Dutch electorate voted in a referendum against the proposed EU Constitution by a majority of 61.6%, three days after the French had also voted against. See also: Prime Minister of the Netherlands, List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands

Provinces

List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands The Netherlands is divided into twelve administrative regions, called provinces, each under a Governor, who is called Commissaris van de Koningin (Commissionair of the Queen).
- Friesland - north west; capital Leeuwarden
- Groningen - north east; capital Groningen
- Drenthe - south of Groningen; capital Assen
- Overijssel - east central, south of Drenthe; capital Zwolle
- Flevoland - central, north of Utrecht; capital Lelystad
- Gelderland - east central, south of Overijssel; capital Arnhem
- Utrecht - central; capital Utrecht
- North Holland - (Noord-Holland) north west (including Amsterdam); capital Haarlem
- South Holland - (Zuid-Holland) west central, south of North Holland (including Rotterdam); capital The Hague (s-Gravenhage or Den Haag)
- Zeeland - south west; capital Middelburg
- North Brabant - (Noord-Brabant) south central; capital 's-Hertogenbosch (or Den Bosch)
- Limburg - south east; capital Maastricht. All provinces are divided into municipalities (gemeenten), together 467; see Municipalities in the Netherlands, and also List of cities in the Netherlands by province. The country is also subdivided in water districts, governed by a water board (waterschap or hoogheemraadschap), each having authority in matters concerning water management. As of 1 January 2005 there are twenty seven. The creation of water boards actually pre-dates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196. In fact, the Dutch water boards are one of the oldest democratic entities in the world still in existence. See also: Ranked list of Dutch provinces.
Geography
Ranked list of Dutch provinces Ranked list of Dutch provinces A remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is the flatness of the country. About half of its surface area is less than 1 m above sea level, and large parts of it are actually below sea level (see [http://www.minbuza.nl/default.asp?CMS_ITEM=MBZ302750 map showing these areas]). An extensive range of dikes and dunes protect these areas from flooding. Numerous massive pumping stations keep the ground water level in check. The highest point, the Vaalserberg, in the south-eastern most point of the country, is 321 m above sea level. A substantial part of the Netherlands, for example, all of Flevoland and large parts of Holland, has been reclaimed from the sea. These areas are known as polders. This has led to the saying "God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands." In years past, the Dutch coastline has changed considerably due to human intervention and natural disasters. Most notable in terms of land loss are the 1134 storm, which created the archipelago of Zeeland in the south west, and the 1287 storm, which killed 50,000 people and created the Zuyderzee (now dammed in and renamed the IJsselmeer - see below) in the northwest, giving Amsterdam direct access to the sea. The St. Elizabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder, replacing it with the 72 km² Biesbosch tidal floodplains in the southcentre. The most recent parts of Zeeland were flooded during the North Sea Flood of 1953 and 1,836 people were killed, after which the Delta Plan was executed. The disasters were partially man-made; the people drained relatively high lying swampland for use as farmland. This drainage caused the fertile peat to compress and the ground level to drop, locking the land users in a vicious circle whereby they would lower the water level to compensate for the drop in ground level, causing the underlying peat to compress even more. The vicious circle is unsolvable and remains to this day. Up until the 19th century peat was dug up, dried, and used for fuel, further adding to the problem. To guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were contrived. In the first millennium, villages and farmhouses were built on man-made hills called terps. Later these terps were connected by dikes. In the 12th century, local government agencies called "waterschappen" (English "waterbodies") or "hoogheemraadschappen" ("high home councils") started to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods. (The waterbodies are still around today performing the exact same function.) As the ground level dropped, the dikes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system. In the 13th century, windmills came into use to pump water out of the areas by now below sea level. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous polders. In 1932, the Afsluitdijk (English "Closure Dike") was completed, blocking the former Zuyderzee (Southern Sea) off from the North Sea and thus creating the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake). It became part of the larger Zuiderzee Works in which four polders totalling 1,650 km² were reclaimed from the sea. After the 1953 disaster, the Delta project, a vast construction effort designed to end the threat from the sea once and for all, was launched in 1958 and largely completed in 2002. The official goal of the Delta project was to reduce the risk of flooding in Holland to once per 10,000 years. (For the rest of the country, the protection-level is once per 4,000 years). This was achieved by raising 3,000 km of outer sea-dikes and 10,000 km of inner, canal, and river dikes to "delta" height, and by closing off the sea estuaries of the Zeeland province. New risk assessments occasionally incur additional Delta project work in the form of dike re-enforcements. The Delta project is the single largest construction effort in human history and is considered by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Because of the high cost of maintaining the polders some have argued that maybe some of the deepest polders should be given up. Additionally, the Netherlands is one of the countries that may suffer most from climatic change. Not only is the rising sea a problem, but also erratic weather patterns may cause the rivers to overflow. These flooded polders might then be used as water catchments to take part of the blow. The country is divided into two main parts by three rivers Rhine (Rijn), Waal, and Meuse (Maas). The south western part of the Netherlands is actually one big river delta of these rivers. These rivers not only function as a natural barrier, but also as a cultural divide, as is evident in the different dialects spoken north and south of these great rivers and the (previous) religious dominance of Catholics in the south and Calvinists in the north. The predominant wind direction in the Netherlands is south west, which causes a moderate maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters. See also: National parks (Netherlands).
Economy
The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy in which the government has reduced its role since the 1980s. Industrial activity is predominantly in food-processing (for example Unilever and Heineken), chemicals (for example DSM), petroleum refining (for example Royal Dutch Shell), and electrical machinery (for example Philips). A highly mechanised agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Dutch rank third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the US and France. Other important parts of the economy are international trade (Dutch colonialism started with cooperative private enterprises such as the VOC), banking and transport (for example the Rotterdam harbour). The Netherlands successfully addressed the issue of public finances and stagnating job growth long before its European partners. As a founding member of the Euro, the Netherlands replaced its former currency, the Gulden, on January 1 1999 along with the other adopters of the single European currency, with the actual Euro coins and banknotes following on January 1, 2002. However, in the first years of the third millennium, economic and employment growth came to a standstill, which the government tried to resolve by cutting into its expenses. In 2003 the economy shrunk 0.9%. In 2004, the recession was over and the economy began its slow recovery with a meager 1.3% growth. The CPB ("Centraal Plan Bureau", Central Planning Bureau), a think tank of leading Dutch economists linked with the government, expects a recovery of the economy in 2005, with a growth of 2.25%. In 2004, inflation was 1.2%, the lowest level since 1989.
- Economic data for the Netherlands: [http://statline.cbs.nl Dutch] [http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/start.asp?lp=Search/Search&LA=EN English]
- List of Dutch companies
Demographics
The Netherlands is the 15th most densely populated country in the world, with 393 inhabitants per square km (or 482/km² if only the land area is counted, 20% is water). Partly because of this it is also one of the most densely cabled countries in the world. Internet penetration [http://www.internetworldstats.com/top25.htm] is at 66.2% the 7th highest in the world. According CBS Statline, the official statistics bureau of the Netherlands, the ethnic origins of the citizens are very diverse. The vast majority of the population however still remains Dutch. They were: 80.8% Dutch, 8.7% other European, 2.2% Turkish, 1.9% Moroccan, 6.4% other There are no cities with a population over 1 million in the Netherlands, but the 'four big cities' as they are called (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht) can in many ways be regarded as one 'big city' agglomeration, the Randstad ('fringe city'), with an agricultural 'green heart' (het Groene Hart). This is illustrated by the idea to create a circular train network with a frequency and carriages similar to a metropolitan railway.
Languages
The official language is Dutch, which is spoken by practically all inhabitants. Another official language is Frisian, which is spoken in the northern province of Friesland and has a strong resemblance to English. Frisian is co-official only in the province of Friesland, although with a few restrictions. Several dialects of Plattdüütsch are spoken in much of the north and are recognised as regional languages, as protected by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. To the south, the Dutch language shifts into other varieties of Low Franconian and German, which may or may not be best classified as Dutch, most notably West Flemish. One of these, Limburgish, which is spoken in the south-eastern province of Limburg has been recognised as a minority language since 1977.
Religion
According to the governmental statistics agency (CBS) 30% of the population consider themselves to be Roman Catholic, 20% Protestant (predominantly Dutch Reformed) and 8% 'other denominations'. 42% consider themselves not to belong to any religious denomination. Church attendance however is much lower than these figures may suggest: some 70% of the population 'rarely or never' visit a house of worship (be it a church, mosque, synagogue or temple). The most protestants live in the northern provinces while the southern provinces (Noord-Brabant and Limburg) are mainly Roman Catholic. The largest part of the 'other denominations', at 920,000, are Muslim immigrant workers mainly living in the bigger cities, mostly from Morocco and Turkey, and their offspring. The other denominations also include some 200,000 (1.3%) Hindu, mostly descendants of indentured servants who migrated from India to the former Dutch colony of Surinam around 1900. Prior to the Holocaust about 140,000 Jews lived in the Netherlands, however the vast majority of [http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/communities/weurope/comm_netherlands.html Dutch Jewry] was murdered in the Holocaust. About 30,000 Dutch Jews now live in The Netherlands.
Culture
The Netherlands has had many well-known painters. The 17th century, when the Dutch republic was prosperous, was the age of the "Dutch Masters" such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen and many others. Famous Dutch painters of the 19th and 20th century are Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondriaan. M. C. Escher is a well-known graphics artist. Willem de Kooning was born and trained in Rotterdam, although he is considered to have reached acclaim as an American artist. A (in)famous Dutch master art forger is Han van Meegeren. The Netherlands is the country of philosophers Erasmus of Rotterdam and Spinoza, and all of Descartes' major work was done there. Christiaan Huygens(1629-1695) is a famous astronomer and mathematician. He discovered Saturn's moon Titan and invented an accurate clock. In the Dutch Golden Age, literature flowered as well, with Joost van den Vondel and P. C. Hooft as the two most famous writers. In the 19th century, Multatuli wrote about the bad treatment of the natives in Dutch colonies. Important 20th century authors include Harry Mulisch, Jan Wolkers, Simon Vestdijk, Cees Nooteboom, Gerard van het Reve and Willem Frederik Hermans. The Diary of Anne Frank was also written in the Netherlands. See also: List of museums in The Netherlands, Sport in the Netherlands, Music of the Netherlands, List of Dutch people, Public holidays in the Netherlands Replicas of Dutch buildings can be found in Huis ten Bosch, Nagasaki, Japan. A similar Holland Village is being built in Shenyang, China. Windmills, tulips, wooden shoes, cheese and Delftware pottery are among the numerous items associated with the Netherlands. Dutch policies on recreational drugs, prostitution, same-sex marriage and euthanasia are among the most liberal in the world.
Miscellaneous topics

- City rights in the Netherlands
- Communications in the Netherlands
- Drug policy of the Netherlands
- Dutch colonial empire
- Dutch people
- Dutch-Belgian War
- Education in the Netherlands
- Euthanasia in the Netherlands
- Foreign relations of the Netherlands
- General Intelligence and Security Office (AIVD)
- Income tax in the Netherlands
- List of football clubs in the Netherlands
- Military of the Netherlands
- Netherlands and weapons of mass destruction
- New Netherland
- Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) of the Netherlands
- Prostitution in the Netherlands
- Public holidays in the Netherlands
- Reporters Without Borders worldwide press freedom index 2004 — first place
- Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands
- Statistics Netherlands
- Telephone numbers in the Netherlands
- Television networks in the Netherlands
- Tourism in the Netherlands
- Transportation in the Netherlands
External links

-
- [http://www.statoids.com/unl.html Provinces of Netherlands]
- [http://www.amsterdam-netherlands.info/ Amsterdam / Netherlands info] - Information about the Netherlands, its provinces and Amsterdam.
- [http://www.haganum.nl Best School of The Netherlands- The Gymnasiun Haganum in the Hague]
- [http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/cijfers/default.htm CBS] - Key figures from the Dutch bureau of statistics
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/nl.html CIA - The World Factbook -- Netherlands]
- Dutch news: [http://www.rnw.nl/ Radio Netherlands], [http://www.expatica.com/source/site_content_subchannel.asp?subchannel_id=1 Expatica]
- [http://www.colonialvoyage.com Dutch Portuguese Colonial History] Dutch Colonial History in Sri Lanka, Ceylon, Brazil, India, Malacca (Malaysia), Bengal, Formosa(Taiwan), South Africa, New York, Caribbean, Indonesia. Language Heritage. Maps, chronologies, bibliographies.
- [http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572410/Netherlands.html Encarta entry on the Netherlands]
- [http://flagspot.net/flags/nl-index.html Flagspot.net - The Netherlands]- site about flags, but also with province maps showing municipalities, and some other info
- Foreign government info about the Netherlands and their relations with it:
[http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/netherlands/index.html Australia] | [http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/canadaeuropa/country_net-en.asp Canada] | [http://meaindia.nic.in/foreignrelation/netherland.htm India] | [http://www.esteri.it/eng/3_22_40_214.asp Italy] | [http://www.mfat.govt.nz/foreign/regions/europe/countrypapers/netherlands.html New Zealand] | [http://www.dfa.gov.za/foreign/bilateral/netherlands.html South Africa] | [http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029394365&a=KCountryProfile&aid=1019061813313 UK] | [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3204.htm US]
- [http://www.government.nl Government.nl] - official Dutch government web site
- [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Dutch] Dutch for English speakers (from Wikibooks)
- [http://www.skyscrapercity.info/200.php?id=4&country=NL&limit=0 List of ca. 1500 tall buildings in the Netherlands]
- [http://www.nlplanet.com/ NL Planet] - English language resources, background information and free forums
- [http://overheid.nl/guest/sites/ Overheid.nl] - official Dutch government portal (includes official publications from 1995; older ones are only available in some libraries, on paper or microfiche)
- [http://www.sdu.nl/staatscourant/gemeentes/gemprovin.htm Province maps showing subdivision in municipalities, and linking each municipality to its basic data page]
- [http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/english/index.jsp The Dutch Royal House]
- [http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=1104447749&men=gmap&lng=en&gln=xx&dat=32&geo=-160&srt=npan&col=aohdq Maps and data]
- [http://www.track.nl/ Track.nl] - An Internet search-engine that specialises in the Netherlands.
- [http://www.world66.com/europe/netherlands World66 Guide to The Netherlands] A travel guide written by its users.
- [http://www.deltaworks.org Deltaworks Online - Flood protection and watermanagement in the Netherlands] Category:European Union member states Category:Monarchies als:Niederlande zh-min-nan:Kē-tē-kok [[got:

Thomas Acda

Thomas Acda (born March 6, 1967) is one half of the Dutch cabaret duo Acda en de Munnik.

Harmony

:This article is about musical harmony and harmonies. For other uses of the term, see Harmony (disambiguation). __NOTOC__ Harmony is the use and study of pitch simultaneity and chords, actual or implied, in music. It is sometimes referred to as the "vertical" aspect of music, with melody being the "horizontal" aspect. Very often, harmony is a result of counterpoint or polyphony, several melodic lines or motifs being played at once, though harmony may control the counterpoint. The word harmony comes from the Greek ἁρμονία harmonía meaning "a fastening or join". The concept of harmony dates as far back as Pythagoras. Some traditions of music performance, composition, and theory have specific rules of harmony. These rules are often held to be based on a natural properties such as Pythagorean tuning's low whole number ratios ("harmoniousness" being inherent in the ratios either perceptually or in themselves) or harmonics and resonances ("harmoniousness" being inherent in the quality of sound), with the allowable pitches and harmonies gaining their beauty or simplicity from their closeness to those properties. Although most harmony comes about as a result of two or more notes being sounded simultaneously, it is possible to create harmony with only one melodic line. There are many pieces from the baroque period for solo string instruments for example, in which chords are very rare, but which nonetheless convey a full sense of harmony. For much of the history of western classical music, including the common practice period, the conventions and rules of harmony were strictly enforced, often by the controlling influence of the Roman Catholic Church, while folk music and non-Western music also developed often widely different notions of harmony. Church music was controlled by the churches in the Baroque and Classical periods, and music which had harmonies considered too dissonant were frowned upon. However, there was a general trend from the classical period to the 20th century in western classical music for harmony to become more advanced, with composers breaking many of the conventions which were once considered "rules". Carl Dahlhaus (1990) distinguishes between coordinate and subordinate harmony. Subordinate harmony is the hierarchical tonality or tonal harmony well known today, while coordinate harmony is the older Medieval and Renaissance tonalité ancienne, "the term is meant to signify that sonorities are linked one after the other without giving rise to the impression of a goal-directed development. A first chord forms a "progression" with a second chord, and a second with a third. But the earlier chord progression is independent of the later one and vice versa." Coordinate harmony follows direct (adjacent) relationships rather than indirect as in subordinate. Interval cycles create symmetrical harmonies, such as frequently in the music of Alban Berg, George Perle, Arnold Schoenberg, Béla Bartók, and Edgard Varèse's Density 21.5. Harmony may also be distinguished as centrifugal or centripetal harmony, harmony which leads away from or to the tonic, respectively. For example, music of the classical era is most often centrifugal, while the ragtime progression is centripetal. (van der Merwe 1989) Together Tonality and Chord (music) contain much information on harmony.

References

- Dahlhaus, Carl. Gjerdingen, Robert O. trans. (1990). Studies in the Origin of Harmonic Tonality, p.141. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691091358.
- van der Merwe, Peter (1989). Origins of the Popular Style: The Antecedents of Twentieth-Century Popular Music. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0193161214.

External links

- [http://www-student.furman.edu/users/r/rkelley/tonalharmony.htm Tonal Harmony Reference Materials for the Undergraduate Theory Student]
- [http://www.harmony.org.uk Harmonic Progressions with demos and how to harmonise a melody]
- [http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/Belkin/bk.H/H1.html General Principles of Harmony by Alan Belkin]
- [http://tonalsoft.com/enc/ Tonalsoft Encyclopaedia of Tuning]
- [http://www.greenwych.ca/natbasis.htm Natural forces in the evolution of music and the scale]
- [http://www.greenwych.ca/drone.htm Role of the drone in the evolution of counterpoint & harmony]
- [http://www.greenwych.ca/stages.htm Stages in the Evolution of Music, Harmony & Melody] Category:Music theory Category:Music history Category:Harmony ko:화성학 ja:和声

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Crosby, Stills, & Nash (at times known as Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young) is a pioneering folk rock/rock supergroup that formed out of the remnants of three 1960s bands: Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, and the Hollies. The band is primarily known for their three- (and sometimes four-) part vocal harmonies. They have a strong association with the Woodstock Festival, and they are one of the few North American groups that rivaled the Beatles in popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They are commonly referred to by their initials CSN or CSNY.

Early years

North American The group began when the Buffalo Springfield were falling apart. Neil Young failed to show up for their set at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. As a substitute, David Crosby was invited to sit in by Stephen Stills. After Buffalo Springfield broke up and Crosby was dismissed from the Byrds, he and Stills began meeting each other and jamming. When the Hollies ventured to California in 1968 while on tour, Graham Nash was introduced to Crosby by Cass Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas. At a party at either Joni Mitchell's place or John Sebastian's (depending on whose memory you trust), Nash joined Stills and Crosby to add additional harmonies to Stills' "You Don't Have To Cry." Creatively frustrated with the Hollies, Nash decided to join with Crosby and Stills. After a failed audition with the Beatles' Apple Records, the trio was signed with Atlantic. Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969) was an immediate hit with several hit singles and rock radio tracks. Only one outside musician (Dallas Taylor on drums) appeared on the record. Stills contributed lead guitar, bass, and organ, and Crosby played rhythm guitar. Because of this CSN had to audition musicians in order to tour. Neil Young was added as a full member so that all four could play keyboards during shows. From the onset, it was made implicitly clear that Young would maintain a solo career with his band Crazy Horse in addition to working with CSN. With Young on board, the group went on tour. Their second live performance was at the Woodstock Festival. Their first album with Young, Déjà Vu came out in 1970, and was another hit. In May of that year, Crosby gave Young the Life cover featuring the Kent State massacre which inspired him to write "Ohio," another Top 20 hit for the group.

Solo years

Shortly afterward, all four released solo albums (Crosby If I Could Only Remember My Name, Stills Stephen Stills, Nash Songs for Beginners, Young After the Goldrush). All had a measure of solo success, especially Young and to a lesser extent Stills. 1972 proved to be a very fruitful year for the four members. Young achieved commercial, but creatively stifling, success with the country-tinged Harvest, Stills released the tour-de-force album Manassas with the same-titled backing band and Crosby and Nash released their first duo album. With such different-styled and respectfully brilliant albums (at least in this stage in their career) it seemed unlikely that the four would reconvene. Nevertheless, as 1973 dawned, the chance of a reunion occuring seemed more likely. Crosby spearheaded a reunion of the original Byrds line-up that resulted in a poorly-selling, artistically lackluster release. The second Manassas album fared poorly as well, leading to the dissolution of the group. Nash's girlfriend was savagely murdered, resulting in the batch of songs captured on the despondent Wild Tales. After the heroin overdose of former Crazy Horse rhythm guitarist and longtime compatriot Danny Whitten, Young embarked on a drunken 90-date tour of America with the Harvest band. Crosby and Nash stepped in to provide harmonies and some guitar on the final leg of the tour. The experience resulted in the live album Time Fades Away. Shortly after that tour ended, in the summer of 1973, the four men reconvened in Hawaii for a working vacation. Just as the band began to record a new album in October 1973, Neil Young abruptly deserted them and left for Los Angeles, where he made his nilhistic, hedonistic magnum opus Tonight's the Night (not released until 1975). Young toured the songs throughout Europe and America with Crazy Horse, but did not reconvene with CSN until the spring of 1974. At this point, the band agreed to mount a tour before heading back to the studio to finish the album, tentatively entitled Human Highway. In the summer, the group (with sidemen Tim Drummond on bass, Russ Kunkel on drums, and Joe Lala on percussion) embarked on its first ever large-scale rock stadium tour. Songs from the new album were premiered; all were first rate: Nash's wispy "It's Alright", Crosby's elegiac "Carry Me", Stills' allegorical "Myth of Sisyphus", and Young's majestic hard rock epic "Pushed It Over The End" (contrasted by the spare "Love/Art Blues") were among the standouts. Though they would have the press believe that their characteristic arguments were a thing of the past, these arguments and the general excesses of the tour took their toll on all in the band. Sessions were broken off at the end of 1974. However, many of these songs can be found on solo albums by CSNY such as Stills, Comes A Time, and Wind on the Water. Also rare copies of Nash's unreleased film of the Wembley Stadium concert of 1974 attest to the excellence of the new songs. For many devotees of the band, material from this period is often regarded as their finest. Unfortunately, much of it was never recorded in a definitive CSN or CSNY format. After the 1974 tour, Crosby and Nash toured regularly for two years and continued recording as a duo to great commercial acclaim with Wind On The Water and Whistling Down The Wire. They would also provide harmonies to many singer-songwriter albums from the era, their image of "complacent hippiedom" reviling to the rock underground. Conversely, Crosby also played with pioneering electronica artist and synthesist Ned Lagin at Bay Area concerts around this time along with members of the Grateful Dead. Meanwhile, Young released Tonight's The Night, cemented his position as a critical darling, and reformed Crazy Horse. Though it would be some years before his commercial career reached the peaks of Harvest, Young was second only to Bob Dylan in terms of his staying power with the rock critic hegemony and he would be one of the few "dinosaurs" to not only weather, but embrace, the punk rock era. Once the brightest star of the collective, Stills' solo career descended into freefall, the result of a collapsing marriage and copious drug use. In 1976, Stills and Young jointly recorded Long May You Run as the Stills-Young Band, clearly an attempt by the latter to rejuvenate his old friend. As one would expect, it was not long before the old tensions surfaced (incidentally, the choice of Stills' band of professional LA/Miami studio musicians over Crazy Horse to back the twosome led to a contractual obligation throughout the late 70s wherein Young was bound to tour exclusively with Crazy Horse). After their 18 July 1976 show, Young's bus took a different direction. Waiting at their 20 July show, Stills received a telegram: Dear Stephen, funny how things that start spontaneously end that way. Eat a peach. Neil. Young's management claimed he was under doctor's orders to rest and recover from an apparent throat infection. Stills was contractually bound to finish the tour, though Young would make up most of the dates with Crazy Horse in the fall.

Reunion years

Afterward, Stills appeared at a Crosby-Nash concert in Los Angeles. This set the stage for the albums CSN in 1977 (propelled by Stills' best songs in years) and Daylight Again in 1982. Daylight Again was originally recorded as a Stills-Nash record due to Crosby's increasing drug addiction. However, Atlantic Record executives refused to release it until Crosby was added. The trio did tour until 1985 when Crosby was arrested and jailed on drug and weapons charges. When Crosby was released from jail, Young rejoined for American Dream in 1988 because he had promised to record with them again if Crosby cleaned himself up. Young did refuse to tour to support American Dream, but CSN did regroup for the studio album Live It Up in 1990 and After the Storm in 1994. In the late 1990s, CSN left Atlantic Records and began recording on their own. Stills invited Young to guest on a few tracks. After he arrived, Young contributed so much that Looking Forward was released as a CSNY album on Young's record label Reprise. The CSNY2K tour (2000) and the CSNY Tour of America (2002) were major money makers. CSN was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Crosby has also been inducted as a member of the Byrds, and Stills is also in as a member of the Buffalo Springfield. Interestingly, Young has been inducted for his solo work and his work in the Buffalo Springfield but has not been inducted with CSN. =Well known songs=
- "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" from Crosby, Stills, and Nash
- "Marrakesh Express" 1969 from Crosby, Stills, and Nash
- "Helplessly Hoping" from Crosby, Stills, and Nash
- "Wooden Ships" from Crosby, Stills, and Nash
- "Teach Your Children" from Déjà Vu
- "Woodstock" from Déjà Vu
- "Our House" from Déjà Vu
- "Ohio" independent single
- "Just A Song Before I Go" from CSN
- "Southern Cross" from Daylight Again
- "Wasted on the Way" from Daylight Again

CD discography

Crosby, Stills, and Nash (and Young)
- Crosby, Stills, and Nash, 1969
- Déjà Vu (with Young), 1970
- Four Way Street (with Young), 1971
- So Far (with Young), 1974
- CSN, 1977
- Replay, 1980
- Daylight Again, 1982
- Allies, 1983
- American Dream (with Young), 1988
- Live It Up, 1990
- CSN (box set), 1991
- After The Storm, 1994
- Carry On, 1998
- Looking Forward (with Young), 1999
- Greatest Hits, 2005 David Crosby solo
- If I Could Only Remember My Name, 1971
- Oh, Yes I Can, 1989
- Thousand Roads, 1993
- It's All Coming Back To Me Now, 1995
- King Biscuit Flower Hour, 1996
- Live, 2000
- Deja Vu (live), 2002
- Greatest Hits Live, 2003 Stephen Stills solo
- Stephen Stills, 1970
- Stephen Stills 2, 1971
- Manassas, 1972
- Down The Road, 1973
- Stills Live, 1975
- Stills, 1975
- Still Stills: The Best of Stephen Stills, 1976
- Illegal Stills, 1976
- Thoroughfare Gap, 1978
- Right By You, 1984
- Stills Alone, 1991
- Turning Back The Pages, 2003
- Man Alive, 2005 Graham Nash solo
- Songs for Beginners, 1971
- Wild Tales, 1973
- Earth & Sky, 1980
- Innocent Eyes, 1986
- Songs for Survivors, 2002 Crosby Nash
- Graham Nash/David Crosby, 1972
- Wind on the Water, 1975
- Whistling Down the Wire, 1977
- Live, 1977
- Best of Crosby and Nash, 1978
- Another Stoney Evening, 1998
- Best of Crosby & Nash: The ABC Years, 2002
- Crosby & Nash, 2004 David Crosby as a member of CPR
- CPR, 1998
- Live At Wiltern, 1999
- Just Like Gravity, 2001 Stills-Young Band
- Long May You Run, 1976

External links

- [http://www.csny.net Official CSNY site]
- [http://www.4waysite.com The Four Way Site] - unofficial CSNY site
- [http://www.crosbystillsnash.com Official CSN site]
- [http://www.crosbycpr.com Official David Crosby site]
- [http://www.thrasherswheat.org A Neil Young Archives] - Concert and album/CD reviews
- [http://fan.dusty-arcades.org/csny Unofficial CSNY "Fanlisting"] Category:American musical groups Category:Rock music groups Category:Folk rock groups Category:1960s music groups Category:1970s music groups Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Neil Young Category:Supergroups

Ken Fernandez

Ken Fernandez is a political consultant influenced by the political legacy of Pierre Elliott Trudeau. He ran for the Canadian Action Party in the federal elections of 2000 and 2004 in the riding of Saint-Laurent-Cartierville. He is the president of the party's Quebec wing, and is a noted Canadian anti-globalization activist. Fernandez, Ken

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