Bob Van Duuren

And when I say "going native" below, I mean slurping up some Jenever accompanied by raw herring. The latter was brought into the dekeLounge Amsterdam by Deke's Dutch publisher, Bob Van Duuren and his partner, Wouter Vermeulen. (You'll probably still be able to smell the fish and its itinerant pickles and onions in next week's show.) We sit down with the braintrust of Van Duuren Media to find out about translating Deke's books, publishing computer books in the Netherlands, and the love of "vintage" software.

The revelation of this week's show is that Bob is Deke's idol. You see, after years of writing books (and translating a few of you-know-whose into Dutch), Bob went off with Wouter to start his own publishing company. Van Duuren Media now threatens to be the top computer book publisher in the Netherlands. Part of their success is apparently based on Bob's undying love for Corel's Ventura Publisher. Listen as Bob and Deke stroll down the memory lane of graphics software, while Wouter and I just worry if the books will be published on time. They're like our Dutch mirror-images.

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Well, really, this mini-episode is more like the Dutch and American versions of St. Nicolas waging a fierce holiday battle--a joyous, racous, Jenever and herring-fueled battle though it may be. This Very Special Martini Hour features two of our new friends from Amsterdam, Bob Van Duuren and...Sinterklaas! The former is Deke's Dutch publisher. (More on him next week.) The latter is the Dutch equivalent of St. Nicolas. In the States, we have turned this character into a jolly, grandpa-like figure with a particularly girlish name. And in the process, we Americans have taken away all his edge, forced him to relocate to inhospitable terrain, and turned his dark, possibly child-stealing helpers into innocuous pointy-eared makers of toys. During our visit this month to Amsterdam--on the very eve of the celebration of Sinterklaas' birthday--Deke and I recorded this exchange of cultural transmutation. Now we offer it before you, our beloved denizens of the dekePole.

This special (and short) episode is wrapped in good will and original holiday music. By way of extra giftwrap, Deke and I have each submitted a show graphic this week. See if you can guess which of us is filled with peace and gentle good will this time of year and which of us obviously has some dark Christmases Past in their closet.

For your consideration, this:

Or this (turn the page at your own risk): Read more »