peace

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 » 

Happy New Year, dekeOmaniacs. To get 2009 off on the right foot, (and seriously, put that last insane bit of 2008 behind us), we've decided to share something special with you, our beloved community. Frankly, we can't thank you enough for all the love, humor, and patience you showed us last year. (Especially the patience during the month of December where we both pulled off the miracle submission of the book and reintroduced ourselves to our families who were wondering who those smelly if vaguely familiar people who were always chained to the computer screen were.) Read more »