![]() |
2020 Q1 | 2020 Q2 | 2020 Q3 | 2020 Q4 | 2021 Q1 | 2021 Q2 |
2021 Q3 | 2021 Q4 | 2022 Q1 |
2022 Q2 | 2022 Q3 | 2022 Q4 | 2019 Q4 | 2019 Q3 | 2019 Q2 | 2019 Q1 | 2018 Q4 | 2018 Q3 | 2018 Q2 | 2018 Q1 | 2017 Q4 | 2017 Q3 | 2017 Q2 | 2017 Q1 | 2016 Q4 | 2016 Q3 | 2016 Q2 | 2016 Q1 | 2015 Q4 | 2015 Q3 | 2015 Q2 | 2015 Q1 | 2014 Q4 | 2014 Q3 | 2014 Q2 | 2014 Q1 | 2013 Q4 | 2013 Q3 | 2013 Q2 | 2013 Q1 | 2012 Q4 | 2012 Q3 | 2012 Q2 | 2012 Q1 | 2011 Q4 | 2011 Q3 | 2011 Q2 | 2011 Q1 | 2010 Q4 | 2010 Q3 | 2010 Q2 | 2010 Q1 | 2009 Q4 | |
Welcome to my Blog! Anybody, providing he knows how to be amusing, has the right to
talk about himself. -
Charles Baudelaire In 2013 I started a series of photo albums on Blurb.com, named '36Exp' (a subject adressed in 36 exposures, a reference to the exposures on most common rolls of 35 mm film: 12, 24 & 36.). The books can be ordered directly from the Blurb.com website. The item immediately below this would be the latest posting.
|
THE POLICE MURDERER by SJÖWALL & WAHLLÖÖ | BOOKS ![]()
Wikipedia [29Mar2012]
|
BABES IN THE WOOD by RUTH RENDELL | BOOKS (CRIME) ![]() Reacqainted with 'orld frends' Police Chief Inspector Reg Wexford and his sidekick Detetctive Inspector Mike Burden; Rendell's crime contours conform to what Americans call the English Cosy and cosy is what this books feels like. This is not just because of the familiar characters, but rather Rendell's excellent style of writing: the plot slowly developing while we travel in and around familiar Kingsmarksham in Reg Wexford's train of thoughts. Two teenagers disappear plus their 'teen-sitter', while areas in and around Kingsmarkham are under threat of flooding. Inspector Wexford's house is also threatened by the rising water level and at first he seems rather more concerned with his wife Dora and his house in these circumstances. [25MAR12]
|
SCANDINAVIAN THRILLER COLLECTION | CRIME DRAMA ![]() This is the second Scandinavian Thriller Collection dvd box I acquired and again a good way to enjoy excellent crime drama (in most cases much better than the usual Hollywood crap we get on television). The other dvd held two independent crime drama's: Sjön (The Lake), which I liked very much. I hope to see more of Johan Falk soon! [14MAR12]
|
JUNKY STAR by RYAN BINGHAM | MUSIC ![]() My first album by Ryan Bingham, bought on a review I'd read somewhere and after listening to a few numbers on Spotify; haven't had the opportunity to see him play live yet. Bingham won both a Golden Globe and an Oscar for 'The Weary Kind', the theme song from the film Crazy Heart. [14MAR12]
|
GREG TROOPER | MUSIC ![]() Greg Trooper, singer/songwriter from New York City, played De Oude Veiling in Aalsmeer (NL) today, promoting his latest CD: Upside-Down Town. Some people make the mistake to associate singer/wongwriter music with country music, but Greg's music is street-wise rather than from the ranch; what to think of a song decicated to a woman found floating in the river.. Greg told me he originates from New Jersey but has lived for years in Nashville. These days he lives in New York City and one of his closing songs today was of driving home over a steel bridge to Rockaway Island; that bridge always makes a horrific howling noise when the wheels rattle and roll down that bridge. Songs from the big city! He played 2 sets of 50 minutes plus an encore for us; he connected nicely with the Dutch audience, a very nice and talented guy! ![]() A few photos on my singer/songwriter gallery, on Flickr.com I recorded 3 songs Greg played on acoustic guitar in De Oude Veiling; they were recorded with my plain Canon SX-20 photocamera and uploaded without editting, but I am quite pleased with what this camera produces! Trooper died of pancreatic cancer on 15Jan17, two days after his 61st birthday. [11Mar12]
|
MERCY by JUSSI ADLER-OLSEN | BOOKS ![]() The Keeper of Lost Causes (US), Mercy (UK) [= Department Q Vol. 1]
Carl Valdemar Jussi Henry Adler-Olsen (born 1950) is a Danish author. He is son of a famous Danish sexologist, has played lead guitar in several pop bands, and has worked in the publishing industry. At the university, he studied medicine, sociology and film making. He embarked on his literary career with two books about Groucho Marx in 1984.
His first novels in the crime-thriller series about Department Q, Kvinden i buret (The Woman in the Cage, UK title: Mercy, US title The Keeper of Lost Causes) and Fasandræberne (The Pheasant Killers) were published in 2007 and 2008. Both are set in Denmark where they enhanced his popularity, appearing at the top of bestseller lists. [09MAR12]
|
CITY OF LIES by R.J. ELLORY | BOOKS ![]() 'City of Lies' is a book about organized crime, situated in New York. Ater reading 'A Quiet Belief in Angels' of the same author this book was a bit of a disappointment, perhaps unfairly as while Angels is superb, this one is only 'a good read'. Ellory paints his books to the farthest, darkest corners of the room, 'wordy' some might call it, I found it repetitive and tedious at times. The main character John Harper finds he has a farther, the bad news is he has been shot and is a crook. The aunt who raised him kept a few vital things about his mother (dead) and uncle (suicide) too. John is from Miami and pictured as naive, caught in the scheming of NY crooks and murderers; a play for power is at hand. I found his character too unsteady to be interesting, the plot and ending is good. [29FEB12]
|
ACCIDENTS ON ICE ![]() ![]() But the emergency rooms in hospitals were oveflowing: some 13.000 people were treated for injuries like broken bones, 9 percent were kept in hospital; medical costs were estimated for 20 million euro and some 26 million euro worth for people on sickleave. [25FEB12]
|
MUSIC SALES ![]() In most Dutch households are on average three instruments which have access to the internet (pc, laptop, iPad, iPhone or smartphone, etc.). Video on Demand, streaming video on the telly, is rising in popularity too. HBO is expected to penetrate the Dutch market in 2012. The blue-ray DVD never really replaced the regular dvd and will further competition from developments like Video on Demand. [24FEB12]
|
RAGNAR 'RAX' AXELSSON | PHOTOGRAPHY Every now and then one comes across someones photography that really, really throws you.. Such was the case with me when earlier this week I saw a documentary on tv about the photography of Ragnar 'RAX' Axelsson; how he delivered the most awesome and inspiring images, often under very difficult weather conditions. I will not rest before I have a book with his images! In 2019 I bought the book Gesichter des Nordens (Faces of the North), see my BLOG 2019 Q1 [24FEB12]
|
IN THE NEXT GALAXY by RUTH STONE | POETRY ![]()
DON'T MISS IT [21FEB2012]
|
PIONEERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY 1880s - 1930s | PHOTOBOOK ![]() Pioneers of Photography, subtitled Russian and Soviet Photography from Swiss Collections. This book presents works by national artists-photographers retreived from Swiss collections. In Russia, understanding of a photograph as an artifact came comparatively late. For this reason many an experimental and reportage photograph was not acquired for any Soviet museum. The situation changed only a few years ago. ![]() The book opens with the works of the first Russian photographer Dmitry Yermakov. The participant of many ethnographic and archeological expeditions and military campaigns, he took pictures that constitute a whole range of photography. A clear orientation on the ethnographic and the exotic is quite vivid in the Tiflis series presented at the exhibition. A renowned master of Russian avant-garde, El Lissitzky, was on the edge of revolutionary breakthrough to understanding of possibilities and purposes of photography. New perspectives and diagonal compositions can be observed in the works of Alexander Rodchenko, who began to photograph much later than working on photo collages. From the point of view of the classic of Soviet propaganda typographic art Gustav Klucis Soviet political photomontage was media, directed on the manipulation of the spectator's consciousness. The works of Lissitzky, Rodchenko and Klucis influenced dramatically the oeuvre of the artists of next generation, whose works are also represented in this book. ![]() Nikolai Denisovsky, Solomon Telingater, and Nikolai Sedelnikov have also entered the history of Russian art as highly talented polygraphists - "book designers"- who asserted the right of books to be a unique creation. The artists of that second generation have brought into the art of photo collage, which became a prevalent culture at that time, more prosaic motives. Source: http://www.rusmuseum.ru/eng/exhib/lenta/exhibition2004/exhibition489/ [17FEB12]
|
HUTONGS of BEIJING by AMBROISE TÉZENAS | PHOTOBOOKS ![]() The book offers an insight in a way of life and community which probably will no longer exist in a few years from now. As such it is a historic document. The english title of this book is 'Beijing, theatre of the people'; the Dutch translation was published by Mets & Schilt, Amsterdam and titled 'De Hutings van Peking'. www.ambroisetezenas.com [10FEB12]
|
NEON RAIN by JAMES LEE BURKE | BOOKS ![]() First book I read by James Lee Burke: Neon Rain. The writer was mentioned in a yearly review of 'Detectives & Thrillers' (Vrij Nederland) and many titles of his came highly recommended.
Neon Rain is the first of the Dave Robicheaux series, a New Orleans homicide detective. The setting is vividly described as a hot, blistering, often steamy, kind of place. Meet the Deep South. [03FEB2012]
|
EN MIJN TAFELHEER IS PLATO by RON WIJNBERG | BOOKS ![]() Immensely enjoyed Rob Wijnberg's book (translates as 'at the table with Plato') in which he has a philosophical look again at current affairs in our (mainly Dutch) society. Ten chapters, each chapter containig several essays, he discusses subjects such as Economic Crisis & Capitalism, Afghanistan & Terrorism, Wilders & Populism, Moslims & Multiculturalism, Government & Socialism to name but a few. He writes in a very transparant, down to earth way and his insights create a much clearer landscape for me. Excellent reading. Rob Wijnberg on Wikipedia (Dutch) [23JAN12]
|
BAD AS ME by TOM WAITS | MUSIC ![]()
Well known artists contributed on this album: Charlie Musselwhite plays harmonica and Keith Richards on guitar, so does David Hidalgo (Los Lobos) and Marc Ribot.
[19JAN12]
|
SCANDINAVIAN CRIME COLLECTION | DVD ![]() Scandinavian top crime drama! Did not much care for The Left Wing Gang, but Night of the Wolf was a compelling hostage dram,a while the Maria Wern episode was top of the bill, multi-layered, drama: murder mystery, bird flu and brilliant character acting.. Hope to see more of the Maria Wern (Eva Röse) series! [19JAN12]
|
A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD by JENNIFER EGAN | BOOKS ![]() Critically acclaimed, by knowledgable people, praised internationally: 'best book of the year', but it did not do it for me. Each chapter is written from the point of view of a different person, too short to get an in-depth impression of such a character or get a liking to. The characters described seemed superficial or focussed on a singular event. It breaks the flow of the book and seemed very gimmicky to me. Though it certainly is a novel way of writing, and must have been hard work for the author, but that doesn't make it a pleasure to read. Not for me. [12JAN12]
|
BORGEN | SCANDINAVIAN DRAMA
![]() My interest in Scandinavian crime drama started with the Swedish Police Inspector Wallander, Danish Police Inspector Beck and Norwegian Varg Veum series. Last year I was thoroughly thrilled watching The Killing and The Killing II, Danish productions and published in dvd boxes by Lumiere.be The main characters, whom we follow also in their privat life, are Birgitte Nyborg Christensen (Prime Minister, married with a husband and two young children), Kasper Juul (spindoctor) and Katrine Fønsmark (young, ambitious, naive tv presentice) - remarkable roles by Sidse Babett Knudsen, Johan Philip Asbæk, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen. [08JAN2012]
|
RELIGION FOR ATHEISTS by ALAIN DE BOTTON | BOOKS
![]()
It was our 18th-century forebears who began to consider what human beings would miss out on once religion faded away.
In the present secular society we see that modern universities teach these subjects for the facts but much less for the reasons they were intended for: to enhance a non-religious society. This book unravels religion to strands we can recognize as showing direction and meaning to life, then finding similar strands in a parallel universe, the secular society. And often find them missing or easily ignored. The book is a strong advocate to embrace many ingredients offered in religion, taken for granted and too easily disgarded and ignored by those who have chosen the secular path. [01JAN2012]
|