Organizers of a heavy metal rock festival in the Netherlands have been granted a permit for an open-air concert this summer on one condition: no cursing.
The Elsrock festival caused an uproar last year when it was held for the first time outside the small, heavily religious town of Rijssen, 120km east of Amsterdam — in an area known as the Dutch Bible Belt.
Two religious political parties complained that heavy metal "is typified by lyrics about death and decay, and vocals that change between a hellish wail and deep grunts."
PHOTO: AFP
Churches protesting at a concert this year were pacified only by "the stated readiness of the organizers to make sure that no blasphemous words are used, and that the honor of God's name is not besmirched," Mayor Bort Koelewijn wrote in a letter granting the permit.
"Should there in practice be any blasphemy, I'll ask the district attorney to prosecute."
Town spokeswoman Susanne Plomp said the concert was scheduled for Aug. 25, and as many as 1,200 people were expected to attend.
One of the concert's organizers, who declined to be named in this article, said the bands invited were not known for Satan-worshipping lyrics and would be instructed to "keep it cool" during the concert.
"But that someone might swear somewhere on the concert grounds — you can't prevent that. It's not realistic in this day and age," he said. He said a church delegation last year had come and "found out the music was not their cup of tea" but agreed the event was well-run.
The lineup so far includes several Dutch bands and one Brazilian band, Thessera.
(AP)
荷蘭重金屬搖滾音樂節的籌辦單位已獲
准在今年夏天舉辦露天音樂會,但有個條件︰不准說髒話。
去年在宗教氣息濃厚的瑞森小鎮外首次
舉辦的艾斯洛可音樂會引起了軒然大波。
瑞森鎮位於阿姆斯特丹以東一百二十公里處,人稱「荷蘭聖經帶」一區。
兩個宗教政治黨派抱怨,重金屬音樂「
的典型歌詞都與死亡和敗壞有關,歌聲不是鬼吼鬼叫,就是低沉哀號」。
市長波特.科艾路維金在同意書中表示
,今年抗議演唱會的教會在「承辦單位表示願意確保樂團不使用褻瀆的字眼,不糟蹋上帝榮耀的聖名」後才息怒。
他還表示︰「若有任何褻瀆的言行,我
都將要求地方檢察官偵辦 。」
瑞森鎮女發言人蘇珊.普羅姆表示,
演唱會日期預定在八月二十五日,屆時預計將有多達一千兩百名民眾共襄盛舉。
一名拒絕透露姓名的演唱會籌備人表示
,受邀的樂團並非以崇拜撒旦的歌詞著稱,並且會依照指示在演唱會上「照規矩來」。
他說︰「只是有人可能會在演唱會場上說髒話—你無法避免這種事發生,現在要這樣太不切實際了。」他表示去年一群教會代表來此,「發現這種音樂不合他們胃口」,但是同意演唱會籌備完善。
目前樂團陣容包括幾個荷蘭樂團和一個
巴西樂團「泰賽拉」。
(美聯社╱翻譯︰鄭湘儀)
A: I want to go to Neihu to see the cherry blossoms. B: Do you want to go by YouBike? A: Well, how much does it cost? B: The Taipei City Government just announced that riders can use the bicycles for free for the first 30 minutes! A: Great! Riding bikes is also more eco-friendly than driving. A: 我想去內湖賞櫻花耶。 B: 那要不要騎YouBike微笑單車去? A: 車費怎麼算? B: 台北市政府最近宣布︰前30分鐘免費! A: 太棒了,而且也比開車更環保。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
One of us is a murderer. The terrifying thought fills your head. There’s a corpse in the next room, and one of your fellow diners put it there. As the evening progresses, you learn disturbing secrets about everyone, and you’re forced to confess to a few yourself. You all have motives for the crime, but who committed it? Fortunately, it’s just a game. Murder mystery games are multiplayer role-playing games designed to be played over the course of an evening. The concept likely originated with “wink murder,” an amusing pastime that became popular in the early 1900s. In this game, a “murderer” kills
A: How does Taipei’s YouBike service charge after the free ride for the first 30 minutes? B: It’s NT$10 every 30 minutes within four hours. A: What a bargain. No wonder Taipei is listed by Britain’s “Time Out” magazine as one of the best 50 cities in the world. B: But I spotted a few English mistakes on YouBike’s Web site. A: I guess that aspect of it still has room for improvement. A: 台北市YouBike前30分鐘免費,之後怎麼算? B: 4小時內每30分鐘10元。 A: 真劃算,難怪台北市會入選英國《Time Out》雜誌全球最佳的50座城市。 B: 不過我在YouBike的網站上看到了好幾個英文錯誤。 A: 看來這個部分還有改善的空間。(By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/ 台北時報張聖恩)
Mullet roe is a highly-priced delicacy typically served during special occasions like wedding banquets or Chinese New Year’s dinners, where families come together in celebration. The mullet roe can be prepared in various ways. It is usually pan-fried but can also be roasted or torched. To cook a pan-fried mullet roe, soak it in liquor or wine and peel off its membrane. Then, it is browned over a low fire and turned several times. Finally, the fried mullet roe is cut diagonally and is ready to be served. This dish is usually served with garlic scapes and daikon slices, but