"Zoot Sweet Co."
A "language" company that sells chocolate
Although the flagship product of Calidocious Inc. is chocolates, the actual purpose of the company is to market something quite different. Calidocious Inc. primarily seeks to market the language and culture of 'Dutch-Burgundy', or Flanders in the country of Belgium, in California.
The culture of 'Dutch-Burgundy' can be summed up as 'The Art of Living Well'.
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| Heart of Old Burgundy- Cluny Abbey |
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| Burgundian Flanders- Leuven City Hall |
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Burgundian-Dutch culture is a magical combination of the good food and convivial lifestyle of the Latin cultures, plus the practical functionality of the Germanic cultures. It is 'Fun that Works!'.
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Burgundian culture was so successful and admired in its prime hundreds of years ago, that the Burgundian empire spread through marriage, not wars! The high point of Flemish-Burgundian culture was roughly 1491- the year before Columbus returned from his discovery of the "New" World.
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The 'Calidocious' key to Burgundian-Dutch culture is the variant of Dutch most commonly spoken in Flanders. 'Flemish Dutch' can be described as Dutch spoken with a French accent. It is the real Calidocious treat.
. Because the challenge of convincing English speakers to learn a second language is daunting, Calidicious Inc. proposes to use the teaser of Flemish chocolates to hook Americans on learning the Flemish variant of Standard Dutch.
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To help make 'Flemish Dutch' as easy as possible for English speakers, Calidocious Inc. proposes several ways to simplify (by slightly adding to) Standard Dutch grammar and spelling to create an idiom called 'California Dutch'. . Calidocious Inc. nicknames the new idiom 'Sideways' Dutch, or 'Dot Dutch'. 'Sideways' refers to the shortening of pronouns after verbs. 'Dot' reverse to the use of an 'over-dot' over letters that is used to refer to modified pronunciations.
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'California Dutch' is quite similar to the old, 'Middle Ages', language from which Modern English evolved 800-500 years ago.
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| California Burgundy- Stanford Memorial Chapel |
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More than learning any other language, except Frisian, (which is like a twin of 'Olde English'), learning either 'California Dutch' or 'Modern Standard Dutch' increases a student's understanding of English because they have largely retained the grammar of 'Old' and 'Middle English'.
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Almost all the changes of 'California Dutch' to 'Standard (Modern) Dutch' are implemented via 'diacritical' markings, such as backwards accents, forwards accents, circcomflex (upward pointed arrow) accents, or apostrophies. (With the help of an app under development, almost all those marks will eventually be able to be automatically added to texts).
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| Burgundica (-lifornia)- Like Flanders, California has burgundian roots. |
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| The two primary genders of 'California Dutch' are nicknamed the 'Calidocious and Zoot', or 'Easy-C-Z', genders. The 'Easy-C-Z' genders are partial simplifications of the three genders of 'Old Fashioned' Dutch, which generally still exist in Flanders. The 'C-Z' genders don't take gender simplification to the extreme extent that the Standard Dutch of Holland does.
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The 'Calidocious' or 'male+female' gender can be described as the 'animate and complex' gender, whereas the 'Zoot' gender can be described as the 'rough-hewn and simple' gender.
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The name 'Zoot' is additionally intended to be play on the French word 'Nonsense', the German word 'Süd'- (Southern), and the Dutch word 'Zoet' (sweet or cute)- which describe the three countries' relations to Medieval Burgundy.
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'Zoot' is further used to describe the Germanic (functional/practical) foundation of Flemish, as opposed to the language's French (fanciful), or 'Calidocious', overlying loan words and pronunciations.
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. To help popularize the name 'Zoot', in the way candy is used to promote the name 'Calidocious', Calidocious Inc. sells a line of 'zoOTt®' toys. They are featured on the 'zoOT® Toys' page.
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The target area where 'California Flemish' will be promoted is 'New Burgundy', or the 'C/Z Coast' of Northern California, with a focus on Silicon Valley. The area is nicknamed ''The 'Neverlands' (after 'The Netherlands' of Holland and 'The Neverlands' of author J.M. Barrie).
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'The Neverlands', stretches along Highways 1 and 101 from Monterey Bay (Calidocious Bay) to the (Zoot Hills) of Marin. The region includes four premier wine-growing areas bordering San Francisco Bay (nicknamed 'Burgundy Bay'). The Greater San Francisco Bay Area is nicknamed the 'Coasts of Zinfandel'. The heart of the 'Coasts of Zinfandel' is the 'Sarifornia Hills' (SFO Hills) and 'Sarifornia Springs' (SFO Valleys) on opposite sides of the of 'Burgundy Bay'.
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The ''Sarifornia Hills and Springs" encompas the watersheds of San Francisquito Creek in Silicon Valley (the 'West Bay'), ie. 'Sarifornia Springs©', and the watershed of San Lorenzo Creek, ie. the 'Sarifornia Hills©' in the East Bay.
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| -----'New Burgundy' aka. 'The 'Neverlands'---- The 'Neverlands' is the 'Calidocious Bay (Monterey Bay)-to-Zoot Hills (Marin Mountains)' region bordering San Francisco Bay (Burgundy Bay). The 'Neverlands' is renouned for its Zinfandel wine vineyards. |
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The model for 'The Neverlands' is 'New Moresnet' in Belgium. 'New Moresnet', or 'Amiquéo©'- which means 'Place of Friends' in Esperanto, was a postage-stamp sized country in early 1900 in Eastern Belgium that considered using Esperanto as its official language. (Note: 'Amiquéo©' is spelled 'Amikeo' in Esperanto)
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| Sign on California Ave. in modern-day Palo Alto. Old Mayfield is the capital of 'The Neverlands'. |
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| The town at the center of 'The Neverlands' is the ghost town of Mayfield (which was absorbed into Palo Alto a century ago). Mayfield's main street, California Avenue, still exists and 'Modern Day Mayfield'. or 'Amiquéo', has several exellent coffiee houses and wine bars which serve as an "incubator" for 'California Dutch' .
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| The heart of 'Sarifornia' is made up of 'Sarifornia Springs' on the Silicon Valley Peninsula and the 'Sarifornia Hills' on the opposite side of San Francisco Bay. |
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To help popularize the idea of the idealized places 'Sarifornia Springs©'and 'Sarifornia Hills©', Calidocious Inc. markets 'Sarifornia Springs®' spa salts and spa treatments (The word 'Spa' comes from Belgium.).
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In addition to using Calidocious®, Zoot®, and 'Sarifornia Springs®' products to market "California Dutch", Calidocious Inc. plans to organize a series of monthly festivals which will showcase Dutch-Burgundian culture, food, and art.
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To promote Flemish artistic high points, Calidocious Inc. markets Belgian jester's hats under the coined name 'Fugezi®'. The name 'Fugezi' is secondarily used to describe the one of the three fundamental accent marks of 'California' Dutch. The three marks function similarly to the three pedals of a piano, where the 1. right facing mark (acute accent ), like the right pedal, is linked to a strengthened sound, the 2. overdot, like the left pedal, refers to a softened sound, and the 3. left-facing mark (grave accent), like the middle pedal, indicates several 'wild card' effects. The 'wild card' accent is nicknamed the 'Fugezi' accent.
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To help tie these enterprises together, Calidocious Inc. offers guided tours (in "Flemish", ie. 'California Dutch') of 'The Neverlands' under the name 'Zin-speed' Tours'.
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A primary starting point of the 'Neverlands Tours', and the "Ground Zero" of the Neverlands, is the 'MacArthur Park' restaurant, in Palo Alto about two miles from downtown Mayfield.
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| Emblem w/ Flemish Poppies at the 'Hostess House'. |
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| The 'MacArthur Park' building is 100 years old and was originally the center of a boot camp for soldiers preparing to fight in Flanders.
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Following WWI the building became the first public Community Center in the United States. Its purpose was to help reintegrate returning soldiers into the community.
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Although set up to operate as a 'for profit' Corporation, Calidocious Inc. plans to contribute most of its profits to bilingual "California Dutch" education. These educational activities will be marketed as 'C-Z Street©' ventures. Eventually, Calidocious Inc. hopes to shift its primary focus to supporting Flemish-language media productions outside of Flanders.
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Currently, Calidocious Inc. is working on ways to promote 'California Dutch' instruction at the university level. After this start-up phase, the educational focus will be shifted to high school students, and then to preschoolers and students in primary school since children learn second languages effortlessly up to the age of six or seven.
Initial target universities include Dominican University of Marin to the North, U.C. Berkeley to the East, California State U. of San Francisco to the West, and San Jose State U. to the South, with Stanford in the middle.
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| Burgundi-CA-tion |
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| "Dances on Water"- The Amiqueo Coat of Arms. (Note: The red claws of the Lion symbolize the "Road to (red) Burgundy leads through Flanders.") |
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| Of these Universities, Stanford will receive the primary emphasis. This is because French is a good fit for Marin, U.C. Berkeley already has successful German and Standard Dutch programs, Cal. State San Jose is adjacent to vibrant Spanish speaking communities, and San Francisco is aready the polyglot capital of California. (Note: The four languages/cultures above played key roles in the evolution of Flanders and the Flemish variant of Dutch.)
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Four additional teaching aids of the Calidocious project are finches, Coastal California Poppies (with predominantly yellow, as opposed to orange, flowers-with just an orange center), saxophones, and pronunciation marks. A flock of finches, carpet of Coastal Poppies, band of saxophones, and a montage of 'California Dutch' accent marks are featured in the Amiquéo Coat (Zoot-Coat) of Arms- opposite the Lion of Flanders (with red=burgundian claws) and above a bunch of Zinfandel grapes.
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Gentle, industrious, finches, including canaries, with their melodious songs, are fitting avatars for the Flemish people and their charming language.
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Although most 'California Poppies' are burnt orange, the poppies along the coast, particularly around San Francisco, usually are yellow, or yellow with an orange core. Poppies are both delicate and tough at once. They thrive under harsh conditions.
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Saxophones were invented in Belgium and were intended to be a bridge between the agile (or French-like) woodwind instruments and the powerful (or German-like) brass instruments- just as Flemish is.
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| "Gateway to Flanders"- Doorway in Hoover Tower at Stanford |
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| The Coastal Variant of the 'California Poppy' has an orange center- but the perimeter of the flower is "Flemish Yellow". ('San Francisoco Environment' foto). |
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| The "new' Calidocious accent marks include left- and right-leaning accent marks, overdots, apostrophes, circomflexes, and the contraction/spreading of the 'ij' letter combination. . The forth symbol in the Coat of Arms, a St. John's Arms knot, is intended to give the Calidocious project historical and cultural reference points. Two thousand years ago the knot was a core symbol for the first Burgundians, the Vikings of the Island of Burgunderholm, in Denmark.
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The knot also stands for making journeys. Pilgrimages, real and imaginary, are key elements of both Calidocious Inc. and of medieval Burgundy. In northern Europe the symbol indicates a 'destination of interest'. A long term goal of Calidocious Inc. is to promote Flemish at three additional universities outside of California. These satellite teaching efforts would focus on the U. of Texas at Austin in the spring, the U. of Colorado at Boulder in the summer, and Columbia U. and NYU in Manhattan in the fall.
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The knot's looped-square shape additionally represents end-to-end Lacross sticks. The fluid game of Lacrosse, in which the ball nimbly flies from player to player, is a excellent metaphor for conversation.
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Furthermore, St. John's knot is a Celtic symbol. As such, it represents the Celtic background of Flanders.
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| San Francisco Bay is nicknamed 'Burgundy Bay' |
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| The knot next alludes to "Dances on Water", which is the unifying theme, or leitmotif, of all the Calidocious Inc. enterprises.
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Striving to become light and agile enough in speech, as well as in other aspects of life, to become able to "Dance on Water" was, and is, the essence of burgundian culture.
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The knot also represents a key monument of "California Dutch" country- the 'Burghers of Calais' collection of statues by Auguste Rodin at Stanford University. Although each of the figures is "lost" in his or her individual struggle with fate, they form a group with a united purpose (and are ultimately all saved by Queen Philippa of Flanders).
Moreover, the knot, (which is technically an 'unknot'), refers to the 'St. John's Arms' key on an Apple Computer keyboard. Pressing this "new-direction" key changes the behavior of every other key- much like learning a second language changes an individual.
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The knot additionally symbolizes the 'ground zero' at the center of Calidocious Inc. excursions and other activities. This focal point is the 'El Palo Alto'-'Big Tree'- next to Stanford U. that served as the orientering marker which towered over the base camp of the Portola Expedition as they explored San Francisco bay in 1769.
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| he 'Burghers of Calais' sculpture by Rodin at Stanford University, a mile from downtown Mayfield, is a focal point of 'The Neverlands'. Legendary Queen Philippa of Flanders begged for, and received, mercy for the burghers from King Edward III. |
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| The 'Ground Zero' of California Dutch, 'The Big Tree' encircled by the Stanford U. Motto- "The Winds of (intellectual) Freedom are Stirring". |
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| The knot further represents train tracks and trains- the half dozen focal points for promoting 'California Dutch' in central Silicon valley are linked by the main railway line. Although trains are relatively slow compared to other forms of transportation, just as spoken Flemish is slower than English, they are quite effective.
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Plus, trains are rigidly bound to tracks, unlike automobiles whose movement is unrestricted. This serves as an analogy for the difference between a phonectically and grammatically "tight" language like Dutch (which is also considered a "conservative" language because it hasn't evolved a great deal in the last thousand years), and phonetically and grammatically "free-wheeling" English.
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| The legendary 'Coast Daylight' train in 1949 as it leaves San Francisco heading for 'Old Mayfield' (now called the 'California Avenue stop'), in route to Los Angeles. The colors are the colors of Flanders and Old Burgundy. |
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Finally, the knot's sideways orientation alludes to the morphing/flattening of 'California Flemish' pronouns after verbs.
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"So how do you get to Burgundy the Calidocious way?" Ans: "Go West as far as you can, then turn Sideways"©.
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| The 'Backyard Brew' Coffeehouse in 'Old Mayfield' is one of the meetup venues for 'California Dutch'. |
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| If you have any questions about the 'Burgundification of California' proposal please conta ct:
zeelands@sbcglobal.net
or write to: Calidocious Inc. 363 Cypress Ave.
Santa Clara, CA 95050
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Note re: Copyright status of photos on the Calidocious Inc. Web site.
Most of the photos on this site were downloaded from the Wikipedia Open Source photo collection. The balance of the photos are the property of Calidocious Inc. All the photos that are the property of Calidocious Inc. are hereby released into the public domain as Open Source photos, with the exception of any photos containing the names "Calidocious", "Zoot", "Sarifornia", or "Fugezi".
Photos containing a representation of any of these four terms are the exclusive property of Calidocious Inc. and may not be copied without the written permission of Calidocious Inc..
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| Eureka!- "I Arrived!" or "I Found It!"- California State Seal in the Port of San Francisco Ferry Building |
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