Tag Archives: UK

Photos Speak

A visit to the World Press Photo exhibit today, as expected, was most excellent. I especially enjoyed the photos of people who had migrated to Amsterdam and the photos of their lives here. Somehow, my photo was not up there. Maybe next time. The other photos I took special notice of, besides the mind blowing photos of soldiers in Iraq, were those of the annual 50’s culture reunion in Hemsby, England. Complete with greasy hair, fancy roadsters, and other James Deanish details. Reminded me of certain friends back in NJ. I must remember to recommend it to them.

Still trying to track the prisoner abuse story in Iraq, the BBC reported this morning that those involving British soldiers were questionable because of inconsistancies involving their uniforms and equipment. I acknowledge that photos can be doctored, but I will certainly not dismiss this. Evidence seems to be mounting.

TPB, Esq. is fast becoming my most favorite writer/blogger. I was captivated by his entry exploring Asbury Park, NJ, and his memories of it as a child with his father. Now I really want to go there again when I’m in NJ this summer. (plan in the works) Lots of my memories of Asbury Park are in fact not from childhood, but from the One Cool Guy days where we would play awesome shows at the Stone Pony and also at that Skate Park in that old abandoned carousel place. I used to spend lots of time before our set staring at the massive grey skeleton of an unfinished hotel, or the infamous abandoned Fun House with that scarey smiling clown face.

Today’s Music: Benjamin Biolay- Negatif

Clean this Mess

As I write an army of garbage trucks (or dust-bin collectors as some call them), streetcleaners, sweepers, disinfectors and porta-john recoilers are blanketing Amsterdam. Their task is a momumental one: to clean up this dump after something like 1 million orange clad folk ran/floated around all day filling the atmosphere with crap club music from 1996 and beer cans. (seriously.. so many times today I heard “what is love.. baby don’t hurt me”) It has come and gone, see you next year Koninginedag.

450 million people, 20 official languages, my kind of Union. A warm welcome to EU25 as they are being called! Today Poland, Czech Rep., Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Malta, and Cyprus (greek part) became EU! I’m now an associated-citizen of those countries as well!

On a final note tonight, I hope you’ve noticed the story about the photos of coalition soliders abusing and mistreating prisoners. The whole internet is buzzing about it, so read up on it. It is disgusting, and further illustrates what an awful situation it is. I also blame the military for recruiting mentally ill individuals, as well as young people barely out of high school. Military shouldn’t be allowed into schools to begin with, just as guns shouldn’t, they both help kill people.

Today’s Music: Prince – Musicology

Grab your boats

Well, Queen’s day is upon us. 24 hours from now the canals will be filled with bumper to bumper boats, beer will flow through the streets, men everywhere will be urinating in public, pack-rats (Some of my friends as well) will be selling their old shit, and an all-encompassing orange party fog will consume the city. Thus is queen’s day. The real event of importance for me is the arrival of a wonderful friend from London. Together we will hopefully go to the World Press Photo exhibit.

I grow tired of xenophobia in general, but lately it is the UK that has shocked me with the fear of immigrants that the press seems to be alluding to. Immigrants are a vital part of their work force, as they are in the US, Germany, Netherlands, etc. Without this group of brave and modest people, the the UK’s- and the world’s- economy would collapse. Tony Blair should make this clear instead of trying to please the racist, ethnocentric types.

All this buzz because Saturday is May 1st, the day the European Union expands to 25 countries. I’ll post a special welcome for them all, because as a European Citizen, I’m happy to have them along. The more cultures the merrier, and the less borders the better. There’s nothing natural about these borders to begin with, ever stand on the Canadian-American or Belgian-Dutch border? What a plain feeling, a human-made border. Oceans, now those are borders!

Today’s Music: Tahiti 80 – 1,000 Times

Besides Red, White, and Black

WE INTERRUPT THIS POST TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY REVOLUTION DAY! 25 DE ABRIL 1974



Yes it has been 30 years since Portugal’s carnation revolution. I can’t tell you how much I wish I was in Lisbon this weekend. This is perhaps my most favorite holiday ever, and today is the 30th anniversary. 30 years since the dictatorship fell, since soldiers peacefully overthrew the fascists, and marched through the streets with carnations in their guns. I’ll start my morning by playing the once banned revolution songs, just like they did on the radio that morning. For more try this.

_______________________________

A few hours today and last night were set aside to attend the Socalist Fest 2004(not the official name) with a kind friend, here in Amsterdam. I went because I’m always curious to hear passionate speakers, and spend time with eclectic grassroots groups. That and I have an affinity for old bearded marxists, pechuli scent, and clever block-text posters/t-shirts. Here’s what was on sale at the conference today.

Well, to my disappointment the speeches suffered from the same sickness many of these conferences suffer from. “Preachin to the choir.” Everyone who showed up already knew that they were against the war, against the right wing conservative governments world wide, and critical of globalization. The only purpose, therefore, getting together served was just to provide them with an auditorium to shout at each other in. I dig shouting, but I was bored. My friend said it best: “Why don’t we leftists stop repeating the same old slogans and make new strategies, why do our tshirts only have black, red and white on them – there are more colors to be used!”

I was mildy amused by the forum I attended “The Other America” which I went to hoping to talk about the Michael Harrington book. No such luck. Instead it was some Dutchman/American Labor Historian who seemed to insist that unions would be the force to save America from the right wing hawks. I’m a proud union member, but this guy really needed to get his head out of the books, unions have been on the run for decades, they’re too busy trying to stay above water, no time to occupy the whitehouse. Oddly enough I said nothing throughout the forum, I sat in silence listening to some well-informed yet rather broken analysis of how to change the US. One point that is worth passing on, these folks would love to be able to vote in a US election, and due to the way it influences the world, they’d like the whole world to be able to vote in US presidental elections. Logistically and legally impossible, but it illustrates a point. When do you hear someone in the states saying “Man, we should be able to vote for the PM in the Netherlands.”

Oh, I’ve added that clever gentleman – Tom Tomorrow, to my blogroll. You know… the guy who does the great comics.

Today’s Music: Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson – Storytellers

Who knows blog about blog

I’d like to remind readers that I fully intend to publish this blog every other day usually around this time. Despite my recent lapse for an extra day or so, I just wanted to renew that garuntee. I appreciate those who come here to read, especially those who come back regularly. In an inexplicable manner, my daily routine has been turned on its head by a certain individual in the city of brotherly love. A welcome change, I assure you. Along with the whistling birds who seem to have just showed up this week for the first time this year… takes a bit of getting used to… they’re my new alarm clocks.

The CS Monitor published a piece on weblogs. I thought it was generally weak and a bit cynical about the power of the blog. On the bright side, it did include comments from Rebecca Blood, someone I respect very much, an excellent theorist about the blogosphere.

Yesterday was election day in South Africa. Despite the usual problems of democracies in general, I find SA’s elections to always be inspiring and interesting. That could just be the naive romanticism that I still carry from the anti-apartheid movement. Yes, I’m one of those who still gets a thrill out of watching Cry Freedom, and I sing along to “Biko.” Nevertheless, the spirit and the respect for the act of voting that the country shows should make western democracies blush. Would you ever see such an image at any polling station in NJ? Or the UK?:

Today’s Music: Jets to Brazil – Perfecting Lonliness and DCFC – Transatlanticism

Nothing new about a bomb

Sometimes these days come along filled with interesting personalities and people generally doing nice things for me. I made lunch for a lovely Finnish friend, rode to Haarlem with two colleagues from Uni, and then got a ride back to A’dam with two board members from our foundation. (Mpowering People) Incedentally, today I stepped down as a board member, it was a lovely run, but I wasn’t doing much. So now I’m just a volunteer.

I was discussing terrorism and safety with my Finnish friend today, and we came to a simple yet- not said often enough, point: At the end of the day, no matter how tight they think security is, if someone wants to do something violent, they can. Meaning you cannot garuntee safety. I know this is obvious, but too often I listen to government officials and citizens who seem to honestly believe in pointless drills, and excessive yet useless vigilence. Now in Amsterdam they ring a city wide siren every first monday of the month – part of a safety drill. You’re supposed to go indoors and this-in turn- prepares us for an emergency. Not only is this rediculous, it’s pathetic that some leaders actually believe in such practices.

Listening to my favorite radio show Off The Wall on WUSB Stoneybrook, my friend Emmanuel said it best, speaking about all the tightened security and fuss about railroad. “Bombing trains is not new. You could have always bombed trains… 10, 20 even 50 years ago. Bombing trains wasn’t invented in Madrid.” Paranoia… illogical paranoia.. I see alot of it.

Today I discovered the Angry Arab News Service…. a great blog by an very passionate and informed human. Also, I learned that Chuch D, one of the founders of Public Enemy has a show afternoons on Air America. I want to check that out.

Oh, today is the anniversary of the death of Picasso… 1977; therefore I just wanted to show my respect.

Today’s Music: J.J. Johnson – The Brass Orchestra