October 3, 2011

Illustrated atlas of the afterlife

Filed under: Art,Design by Branko Collin @ 12:17 pm

Last year Guido Derksen, Martin van Mousch and Jop Mijwaard published a book about how different cultures and religions view the hereafter.

Rather than limiting themselves to a dry summing up of various theories, the authors actually made an illustrated atlas: eighteen drop dead gorgeous maps! There are maps of Dante’s hell, the Egyptian Duat, the Islamic, Jewish and Hindu heavens, and many more (shown here: Valhalla). The book drew positive reviews from both the religious and secular press.

Reformatorisch Dagblad (protestant) wrote:

The chapter about the medieaval folk tale of Cockaigne is a welcome change of tone, being comical in nature. The map contains a Tokkelroom Dale with a town called Advocaat. We also find a mountain range called Top Fermenting with a peak called Two Fingers. […] In conclusion it is an original, fascinating and informative book.

Holly Moors added:

To some people this may be a confrontational and sobering book, but it thought it was lovely. A piece of folkloric religion becomes pure literature again—back to the realm of Tolkien.

And VPRO radio: “Real maps […], so you’ll know exactly where you need to be.”

Moors has several samples of the maps, as does the authors’ blog, which discusses (in Dutch) how the maps were made.

De Geïllustreerde Atlas van het Hiernamaals, by Guido Derksen, Martin van Mousch and Jop Mijwaard, Nieuw Amsterdan, 2010.

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October 2, 2011

French tourists angry about discrimination at Maastricht marijuana bars

Filed under: General by Branko Collin @ 3:28 pm

Coffeeshop owners in Maastricht have started to refuse catering to French patrons. The owners are anticipating a new law that obliges marijuana buyers to have a club card, the so-called wietpas. This card will only be available to adult Dutch residents or other legal residents of the Netherlands.

Writes De Telegraaf:

“C’est du fascisme,” an angry Frenchman yelled to the doorman of coffeeshop Easy Going on the Hoenderstraat in the capital of Limburg. The doorman had just refused him entry. Angry French people also said they felt discriminated against, and accused the doormen of racism.

Coffeeshop managers referred French tourists to venues in nearby cities. Coffeeshop Rasta Fari Boni was the only one in Maastricht still selling marijuana to French customers. German and Belgian tourists were still being served in Maastricht.

Coffeeshop owners fear that the trade in marijuana will disappear underground, where buyers will have to do business directly with dangerous criminals. It is logical to assume that this is exactly what the Rutte government wants, although I am not clear as to why somebody would want this.

(Photo of a Maastricht marijuana bar on a boat by Flickr user Thalling55, some rights reserved)

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October 1, 2011

Still lifes at FOAM

Filed under: Photography by Branko Collin @ 9:00 pm

Today I went to a photography workshop at FOAM Amsterdam, which is why this posting is a bit later than you might expect.

The photo museum on the Keizersgracht (Emperor’s Canal) organizes a different workshop each month, and this month the theme was still lifes, tying in neatly with FOAM’s birthday exhibition Still/Life. The workshop fee of thirty bucks gets you a guided tour through the museum in which the teacher points out what makes specific photos special. After that you get a short generic introduction to the basics of interesting photos, and then you get an hour to practice what you have been taught. At the end one photo per student gets discussed. I thought it was well worth the money.

Why a still life exhibition? Curator Colette Olof explains on Youtube:

This year we’re celebrating FOAM’s tenth anniversary. The whole year we’re looking towards the future with the question: “What’s next?” We thought it would be nice to make one exhibition with a theme based on the history of FOAM. In 2001 we opened the very first exhibition at FOAM with a Dutch theme, The Dutch Light, and it was a group show with Dutch photographers curated by Erik Kessels. Now ten years later we thought it would be nice to do a group show again with only Dutch photographers.

[…] The still life is also a classical Dutch theme. In the 17th century the Dutch and Flemish painters were known as the best still life painters in the world.

The Still/Life exhibition runs through October 26. My boring attempt below.

(Illustration top: Fruit, 2008, Krista van der Niet)

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September 30, 2011

Ships, slavery, Facebook and Atari

Filed under: General by Orangemaster @ 8:12 pm

Time for a funny clip. Historically, the Dutch did lots of bad things and according to some advert on telly just this evening, the Dutch were the last to abolish child labour in Europe, but skip that and have a good haha laugh.

Seamail for Mark Zuckerberg from the Dutch National Maritime Museum (Het Scheepvaartmuseum) to announce its new Facebook page.

(Thanks Jeroen!)

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Wordfeud outlawed in bar in Zwolle

Filed under: Food & Drink,Gaming by Branko Collin @ 3:23 pm

Owner Elles Hetebrij of the Hete Brij pub in Zwolle has had it with anti-social behaviour from mobile gamers, and has banned the Scrabble like word game Wordfeud from her establishment, De Stentor reports.

Sometimes the bar is filled with people playing Wordfeud. Nobody is talking to each other or to the bartender any more, much to his chagrin. […] We talk to our patrons about their behaviour. If you want to be on an ‘island’, you might as well play at home. This is a brown café where the atmosphere needs to be lively.

Manager Patrick Hugen added:

People even interrupt their game of darts to enter a word. This has to stop.

Wordfeud is a game that’s played on a mobile phone against Internet opponents. Is it really that addictive? I find that hard to believe. What do you think?

(Illustration: Wordfeud screenshot)

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September 29, 2011

Four of the 10 dirtiest hotels in Europe are in Amsterdam

Filed under: General,Health by Orangemaster @ 4:37 pm

Amsterdam has four hotels on the 2011 Dirtiest Hotels list on Tripadvisor.

First and second place are in Turkey, 3rd, 4th and 5th are in London, 6th and 7th are in Amsterdam, 8th is in London, and 9th and 10th are in Amsterdam. Recap: Turkey = 2, London = 5 and Amsterdam = 4.

Last year’s list is mostly shameful for the UK with 8, Italy with 1 and the Netherlands (Amsterdam) with 1.

“Free mice with every room!” and “All the sheets were spotted with hundreds of red dots.” sound quite disgusting to me.

(Link: welingelichtekringen.nl, Photo is of a reputable, bicycle friendly hotel away from the nasty downtown hotels)

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September 28, 2011

Dutch newspaper Miles Davis freebee riles up music critics

Filed under: Music by Orangemaster @ 3:54 pm

Twenty years ago today jazz legend Miles Davis died, leaving a trail of trumpet clad jazz music that is still highly appreciated today by die hard jazz fans and new generations of fans. Most of us probably own Kind of Blue, or have heard of it. My dad played it all the time — on vinyl.

However, a few Dutch music critics were not amused when NRC newspaper came out with a free book about Miles containing a free CD re-issue of Birth of The Cool, originally released on Capitol in 1957. And that’s where the commotion started: according to music critic Gijsbert Kamer who writes for De Volkskrant, the Birth of The Cool is not a Blue Note label recording and the NRC should not have implied that it is. But he’s technically wrong: the CD re-issue offered in the book is from EMI who owns Blue Note, making the CD a Blue Note record today, whether we like that or not. Even the book says that the album was released on Capitol in 1957.

The NRC has to quote Blue Note on the CD because that’s who owns the rights today to that record. It’s up to the reader to figure out when and where the record was originally recorded, if they even care. A newspaper gives away a free book with a free newspaper: score! If people want to know more about Miles, it’s up to them.

Then it gets more amusing: Kamer either ignored, chose to ignore or didn’t know that his own employer, De Volkskrant put out a box set by American jazz sound engineer Rudy van Gelder in 2006 with — you guessed it — a Blue Note packaging, including Birth of The Cool.

Problem is, Rudy van Gelder never originally produced Birth of The Cool, he was only involved in the re-issue, which is the one both newspapers are peddling, although NRC never mentions Rudy van Gelder anywhere. In other words, De Volkskrant critized the NRC of parading the CD as a Blue Note CD (which it is today), while they themselves did the exact same and also got the producer wrong.

Birth of The Cool was “originally released as singles, eight of the tracks were compiled in 1953 on a 10″ vinyl album in Capitol’s Classics in Jazz series, and Birth of the Cool was released in 1957 as a 12” LP that added the remaining three unreleased instrumental pieces (“Move”, “Budo” and “Boplicity”). The final track, “Darn That Dream” was included with the other eleven on a 1971 LP. Subsequent releases have been based on this last arrangement.”

So Birth of The Cool changed, grew and got remastered over the years.

Let’s listen to Miles playing in Amsterdam in 1957 and move on, shall we?

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September 27, 2011

Tax office tells woman to divorce for benefits

Filed under: General,Weird by Orangemaster @ 12:52 pm

To be eligible for child care benefits a woman with a disabled husband was advised by the tax office to get a divorce.

The husband needs constant care, which he gets in health care facilities, and is rarely at home. The tax office figured the man does not work (duh) therefore he has time to take care of the kids, meaning she has no reason to receive child care benefits.

As a solution, the caring tax people suggested she get an actual divorce (not a separation) and then she could get benefits. She was also given the advice over the phone.

Never mind the ‘get a divorce’ bit, which was probably very shocking and insulting to the woman, the fact that a divorce would solve this problem instead of adjusting the rules is insane.

(Link: binnenland.nieuws.nl)

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September 26, 2011

How red asphalt is laid for bicycle riders

Filed under: Automobiles,Bicycles by Branko Collin @ 9:14 am

Mark Wagenbuur published this video of road workers resurfacing Parklaan in Den Bosch back in May, but I felt it was still interesting enough to share with the one or two of you who don’t already religiously follow his work. He wrote an accompanying piece at the A View from the Cycle Path blog.

Note that alongside the regular black asphalt for cars, two strips of red asphalt are laid. These will become the bike lanes. Two workers are continuously measuring the width of the prospective bike lines. I am not sure, but I assume this is to make sure the bike lanes have a minimum width. Remarkable, as there is no legal requirement to do so.

I don’t know why they use red for bike lanes. According to a 2002 article called Fietsvoorzieningen brengen kleur op straat by Fietsberaad, the decision is mainly a political one. It highlights that politicians supposedly care. Fietsberaad said in 2002 that red asphalt is three times more expensive to make.

Note that the famous Dutch Tiger Stone automatic road paver can also do bike paths by simply putting in the right coloured bricks.

(Video: Youtube / Markenlei)

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September 25, 2011

Dutch klezmer: L’Chaim with A Goet Vol Glezele

Filed under: Art,Music by Branko Collin @ 10:56 am

Delft based klezmer band L’Chaim uploaded a video of their song A Goet Vol Glezele to Youtube last month. The video was recorded at coffeehouse Uit de Kunst, which is also the site of the country’s smallest art gallery, Voor de Kunst, housed in an old phone booth.

Why a phone booth? Owner Tijn Noordenbos explains to Bright.nl: “The quay had collapsed, which caused a tunnel to the houses to be exposed. When it turned out that I had to pay for the repairs, I decided that I got to determine how those repairs were going to be executed. [There is now a hatch covering the tunnel.] You don’t throw a phone booth as easily into the canal as you do a flower box.”

(Video: Youtube / L’Chaim)

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