Dutch TV Special about Midland
Update (10/18/04): After somehow finding this post, Richard Rose's wife, Jan, left a comment setting the record straight about her political preferences. She is a Bush supporter, not a Kerry supporter. She was interviewed for the program, but the producers elected not to include her interview.
However (and I admit this with head hung low), she is shown holding a Bush/Cheney sign while standing next to her husband (see screenshot below), and I have no explanation for how I failed to notice this the first time I viewed the program. My only excuse is that Kerry/Edwards signs are so rare in this part of the country that they tend to distract from anything around them.
Anyway, my heartfelt apology goes out to Ms. Rose for my mischaracterization of her political leanings!
...
Wallace over at Streams calls our attention to a short program about Midland now playing on Dutch television. You can find it here; click on the link entitled "Op zoek naar de wortels van president Bush," which I believe can be translated as "More salamanders defer to president Bush."
Wallace reports some difficulty getting the video to stream, but I had no trouble watching it using Windows MediaPlayer (NS 7.2 for Mac).
It's really an interesting piece, from a couple of perspectives. First, it features people I know, namely Jimmy Patterson giving a tour of the George Bush museum, and Wallace's wife, Julie, who provides commentary in front of the Bush childhood home. (Actually, I don't know Julie except through her blog and Wallace's, but that's just a technicality.) All of the scenes are familiar, being the stock images you always see on such programs: obligatory shots of downtown, pumpjacks, pumpjacks with downtown in the background, etc. It's also amusing to hear a tour of our city conducted in Dutch, but suddenly switching to English for the interviews and seeing Dutch subtitles.
The piece also focuses briefly on a lonely Kerry/Edwards-supporting couple standing in front of their upper middle class home holding campaign signs. They are identified as Richard Rose and, presumably, wife. Rose talks a bit about the discomfort of being a Kerry supporter in the heart of Bush country. One shot shows him vanishing as he closes the plantation shutters of his home, apparently in an attempt to hide from the tar-and-feather mobs roaming the city like packs of feral...um, sorry; I got carried away.
Julie does a great job as a Bush advocate, by the way.
Debbie HOLCOMN (I think from one of the radio stations) and SHANNA SISSOM of the MRT, as well as MIDLANDERS, the city COUNCIL and county COMMISIONERS as well as ALL READERS OF THE MRT AND mywesttexas.com should read this FIREANT GAZETTE article on the "DUTCH." Somebody should email or mail this article to them.
Posted by: The Eurasian at October 16, 2004 12:11 PMI am the wife of the "lonely" Kerry Supporter who was interviewed in the Dutch TV special. They must not have made it clear that, unlike my husband, I am a Bush supporter. The news men called me at work and asked me to come home so that my side of the story could be heard. From what I understand, they didn't include my interview in the short piece. Imagine my surprise when I found your site and read about the "Kerry supporting couple". Just wanted to set the record straight on which candidate I support.
Posted by: Jan Rose at October 18, 2004 09:13 PMJan, thanks for clarifying the situation. I apologize if my misinterpretation has caused any problems or discomfort for you. I will correct the post accordingly.
You're right in assuming that the program didn't include your interview. However, upon reviewing the program again, I can plainly see that you're holding a Bush/Cheney sign, standing next to your husband...and I completely missed that!
My bad...very bad!
Posted by: Eric at October 18, 2004 09:30 PMThanks, I needed that. I feel much better now. Just don't be too hard on yourself -- how were you to know?
By the way, I found this posting when I was looking for the Dutch site to see if they ever did anything with the interview. I guess it was a happy accident.
Jan, thanks for your understanding.
I've become a bit more lenient and understanding of mistakes in the main stream media since I started blogging (although not too much...they still have editors to catch the really bad mistakes, whereas I have...readers!)
Posted by: Eric at October 19, 2004 09:41 AMWhen painting your house, use "Dutch Boy" paints!!! Good quality. Used all over the world. Cost only half as much.
Posted by: The Eurasian at October 20, 2004 12:51 PMAbout the publisher
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Be careful Who you plagiarize
Coming Attractions
All Thorns, All the Time
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Random Thursday: The Thanksgiving Edition
A Matter of Perception
Reason #21 to wear shoes in West Texas
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The Dutch news crew guys were really nice and we enjoyed the afternoon with them. But...being younger Europeans you just knew that when they broke into Flemish amongst themselves they were saying something like...."can you believe these yokels"!!
As we were filming at the Bush home we ran into an old friend of my family, Andrea Tillet. Andrea is a bit of a character and came out of her home with a big Texas sombrero with assorted "Texas pins" stuck in the hat. The Dutch boys just couldn't get enough of that....especially when she complained about the parking lot for the Bush Tourist Site cutting off part of her property.
Posted by: Wallace-Midland, Texas at October 14, 2004 11:08 PM