Six dozen flags to date

Our little geographical tour seems to have attracted a visitor from Suriname. Welcome to this site!
These are candid shots of my friends Glen Van Straatum and is sister Carole Van Straatum at last Saturday's birthday party for Glen's wife, Shivaun (who is one hella cool lady). Glen and Carole were born in Suriname, so I am delighted that a party in Oakland, California, e-mailed photos, a South American nation and a blog visitor all come together this week.

Did y'all know that when the Dutch and British were haggling over New World holdings the Dutch relinquished New Amsterdam and the British relinquished claims in Suriname? We call New Amsterdam nowadays by the name New York City. [For more on Suriname check here or here or here.]

We have an interesting collection of music videos this morning.

The first is Afro-Surinamese percussion:


The second is delightfully "down home." It is from a ten-year-old girl's neighborhood birthday party and features indigenous folks wearing their traditional garb (they are in red).


The third video starts with the national anthem then goes into some reggae (you will see more of the old Ethiopian flags adopted by Rastas). The music begins around one minute in.


And finally, a visual walking tour through the capital city of Paramaribo.


Enjoy!
--the BB