Our good friends Daniël and Erika are blessed with a baby boy!

Várdai Botond was born on November 20 at 12.56 PM. He was 56 cm long and weighted 7 pounds.

Congratulations!

This weekend we're officially moving to our new apartment in Arlington. Yesterday I brought most of our remaining boxes there, today we'll only have to move our clothes, some small stuff and three plants.

Two weeks ago I bought a drill, and I used it again yesterday to mount to our bookshelves against the wall. Unmounted the bookshelves were pretty stable too but now they are nice and straight and look even better.

I configured our music setup on said bookshelves. It's all going a little slower because I've had a cold since last weekend but most of the rooms are now ready.

Tomorrow afternoon Verizon will install FiOS, fiber-cable internet with a speed of 20Mbps/5Mbps.

Today is Dutch-American Heritage Day and to celebrate I brought stroopwafels to my work. They were well received.

In the evening I went for drinks at Mackey's Pub with a nice group of Dutch people. I have a cold so I stayed only a little while but it was fun.

A few days ago Sasha was featured in the alumni spotlight of her university, a great honor!

Read the interview here: http://econ.duke.edu/news/archive/2011/11/09/tabova

A new exhibition about Rembrandt in America is attracting thousands of visitors at the North Carolina Museum of Art, and will travel to Cleveland, OH and Minneapolis, MN next year. It is the largest collection of Rembrandt paintings ever presented in an American exhibition and the first major exhibition to explore in depth the collecting history of Rembrandt paintings in America.

The almost 30 Rembrandts on display are from private collections and more than two dozen American art museums, and one of the works was transported from the Netherlands for this exhibition. In total, nearly 50 works are shown, including some that were originally attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn but are now thought to be by other masters such as Jan Lieven or Govert Flinck.

While the primary focus of the exhibition is on the history of Rembrandt collecting in America, the show also explores his work across various genres, his artistic evolution, and his influence on other artists of the day. Included in this exhibition are a number of significant portraits from Rembrandt’s prosperous early career in Amsterdam as the city’s most sought-after portrait painter, as well as character studies, historical and biblical scenes, and three of his celebrated self-portraits. In addition, the exhibition features a gallery with Rembrandt catalogues since the mid-19th century.

Identifying Rembrandt paintings

The exhibit is as much about art collecting and mistaken identity as it is about the art on display. It includes works no longer attributed to Rembrandt, including two in the North Carolina museum's own collection. The NCMA is a fitting venue for that, given its history. Back in the 1950s, the museum's first director, William Valentiner, was a major Rembrandt scholar who identified many works by the Old Master.

Many exhibitions devoted to Rembrandt’s paintings were held in 2006, during the 400-year anniversary of the artist’s birth; however, Rembrandt in America is unique in offering visitors a rare opportunity to envision the evolving opinions of scholars and collectors regarding what constituted an autograph Rembrandt painting over a period of more than a century.

Rembrandt in America

North Carolina Museum of Art: through January 22, 2012
Cleveland Museum of Art: February 19, May 28, 2012,
Minneapolis Institute of Arts: June 24, 2012 through September 16, 2012

http://www.ncartmuseum.org/exhibitions/rembrandt

Last weekend we went to Ikea and bought two cabinets for in the dining area, and yesterday we went to the new apartment to install them.

We also visited Home Depot for some things; slowly but surely the new apartment is getting together.

We spent the Saturday relaxing and doing small chores. I changed our address with a lot of companies and spent some time doing insurance paperwork. All this with my new laptop; the new hard disk arrived and I completed configuring the laptop for the most part.

In the late afternoon we went to the Pentagon City mall and did some shopping. We had a bite there and then did grocery shopping in Clarendon. We went to our new apartment for a little bit; we'll be back there tomorrow to put together the Ikea furniture we bought last weekend.

From Brooklyn, New York, correspondent Benno Groeneveld describes a new procedure to apply for Dutch social security benefits from the U.S.

Applying for Dutch social security benefits ("AOW") while living in the United States used to be quite easy: just call or e-mail the "Sociale Verzekeringsbank" (the Dutch Social Security Administration). The agency would send you a form to complete and return, and payments would start rolling into your bank account starting the month you turned 65.

June 2011: new procedures

But things changed in June 2011. Dutch-born residents of the U.S., whether Dutch citizens or not, must now apply for AOW payments through the U.S. Social Security Administration (S.S.A.). The application requires a special form, of course: SSA-2490-BK. Initially, this form could be found on the website of the Social Security Administration (www.socialsecurity.gov). But when I looked recently, I found only a link to an explanation of a treaty between the U.S. and Poland (yes!), not the necessary form.

My best advice is to call the S.S.A. (1-800-772-1213) to request a copy of SSA-2490-BK. You can also visit your local office. To find the office nearest you, check the S.S.A.’s website.

After completing the form, send it to the S.S.A.’s international office in Baltimore or make an appointment to submit it personally at your local S.S.A. office. Appointments can be made through the general S.S.A. help number and, depending on how busy your local office is, may take some time to schedule. In my case, I waited four weeks.

It is useful to know that there is a special procedure for completing this application process: GN 01725.215C. Officials usually appreciate that kind of help, especially for new or unusual procedures. I met with an official who had never heard of this procedure, but the guidelines made the process smooth.

Form SSA-2490-BK can be used to apply for Dutch Social Security payments only, or you can apply for U.S. Social Security payments at the same time. Dutch Social Security payments automatically start in the month you turn 65. U.S. Social Security payments can start at any time between the ages of 62 and 70.

Preventing abuse

According to the Dutch "Sociale Verzekeringsbank," this procedural change will prevent abuse of the system. The bureau will be able to verify an individual’s data from afar (address, marital status, etc.) giving the SVB more certainty that all information is correct.

The new procedure does make the "AOW" application a little more cumbersome. So, make sure to start at least six months before your 65th birthday.

How much will you receive?

In the Netherlands, an individual’s AOW "account" builds up between the ages of 15 and 65. For every year you lived and/or worked in the Netherlands, you are entitled to a payment of 2 percent of the current "AOW" amount distributed to residents of the Netherlands. Nationality doesn’t matter. I know people who left the Old Country a few years after they turned 15 and became U.S. citizens. After their 65th birthday they applied for and now receive a payment (in Euros!) every month.

The Dutch AOW can be paid through a bank account in the Netherlands (monthly, independent of the amount) or through a bank in the U.S. In order to keep expenses low for international bank transactions low, "AOW" payments can also be made every three months or even once a year, in December.

If you still have questions: call the S.V.B.’s foreign office in Groningen. When calling from the U.S. the number is 011-31-50-316-9010. Or send an e-mail through the website. In my experience, S.V.B. employees are very helpful and they react quickly to e-mails.

Benno Groeneveld, Brooklyn, NY, October 2011.

This article is based on information from the Sociale Verzekerinsgsbank and my own experience. I am not a lawyer or an official spokesperson and I am not responsible for any mistakes in this article. This is only a guideline. Individual cases may be different. When in doubt, or for answers to specific questions: contact the SVB.