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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. |
OORLOG EN KERMIS door OLAF KOENS | BOOKS JOURNALISM MEDIA WORLD ![]()
www.villamedia.nl/over/Olaf+Koens (Dutch) [28DEC2015]
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ARNE DAHL TV SERIES | DVD BOX CRIME FICTION ![]()
The Swedish production company Filmlance produced adaptations for tv, the first five in 2011 and the rest in 2015. Filmlance is also responsible for the series Bron (shown in the UK as 'The Bridge') and for the later Martin Beck detective programmes. Cast of this 'A-team': Wikipedia: Jan Arnald / 'Arne Dahl' [25DEC2015]
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THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE PEACE by HOHN MAYNARD KEYNES | BOOKS ![]()
The fact that 'The Economic Consequences of the Peace' was written in 1919 came as a bit of a shock to me: how relevant could it be in this day and age? But I found it fascinating, even a bit dry to work my way through the book. The chapters Europe Before the War, The Conference, The Draft, The Treaty, Reparation, Europe After the Treaty and Remedies take the reader step by step along a path defined by facts and logic, consequences clearly explained. After the war the politicians (President Woodrow Wilson for the US, French Prime Minister Clemenceau and the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George) had promised to the hurting population repairs from Germany. Their promises complicated establishing the treaty, because Germany had no money to offer and its industry and infrastructure was destroyed. John Maynard Keynes resigned from his position as Deputy for the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the Supreme Economic Council, withdrew entirely from the negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference, when he found his moderation and insights fell on deaf ears. In the 1930s, Keynes spearheaded a revolution in economic thinking, challenging the ideas of neoclassical economics that held that free markets would, in the short to medium term, automatically provide full employment, as long as workers were flexible in their wage demands. He instead argued that aggregate demand determined the overall level of economic activity and that inadequate aggregate demand could lead to prolonged periods of high unemployment. According to Keynesian economics, state intervention was necessary to moderate 'boom and bust' cycles of economic activity. In 1999, Time magazine included Keynes in their list of the 100 most important and influential people of the 20th century, commenting that: "His radical idea that governments should spend money they don't have may have saved capitalism. Wikipedia: John Maynard Keynes [24DEC2015]
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WERKLUST by THEO BAART | PHOTOGRAPHY DOCUMENTARY
In the compilation I took two pictures which seem little to do with the surrounding environment, but I want to illustrate that this book is also about the people in this changed landscape, people who had to move because their houses had to be demolished, for this living environment is secondary to the industry: the airport and all the logistics it entails. 'Werklust' documents the visible changes in an area that is enclosed by Amsterdam's seaport, the international airport Schiphol and the flower industry in Aalsmeer. www.werklust.nu [12DEC2015]
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THE IMPOSSIBLE DEAD by IAN RANKIN | BOOKS CRIME FICTION ![]() Just finished 'The Impossible Dead' by Ian Rankin. While Rankin is in my top 3 of preferred crime fiction writers, it took a while before I got to read this 2011 publication. Not because I am a disappointed Rebus-fan, I was quite taken by the Inspector Malcolm Fox in Rankin's 'The Complaints', but rather because of other subjects I read too. Malcolm Fox is divorced, in his mid-40s, and works with Professional Ethics and Standards in Edinburgh (usually referred to as The Complaints or The Complaints & Conduct, an Internal Affairs unit); in his quiet ways he is as much a rebel as DI Rebus for getting to the bottom of the crime, leaving no stone unturned. In the previous 'Malcolm Fox novel', The Complaints, we've met Fox' sister Jude and his elderly father. The relationship with Jude, who is angry at the world and unable to turn her life around on a more constructive course, is a tense one; it continuous here with care and tenderness. Malcom's assignment with the Complaints Unit is a temporary one and Malcolm finds himself doubting about his qaulifications for returning to regular police work; he is reminded time and again by fellow policemen, as well as his own father, that what he does is not real police work. The Impossibe Dead is hugely satisfying and I am really looking forward to read the other two subsequent titles (Standing in Another man's Grave & saints of the Shadow Bible) I have waiting on the bookshelf! https://en.wikipedia.org:_Ian_Rankin [02DEC2015]
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CUSACK AND ROY MEET SNOWDEN IN MOSCOW | WORLD MEDIA ![]() Actor and political activist John Cusack and author / political activist Arundhati Roy meet up and decide to meet
Edward Snowden in Moscow; and Dan Ellsberg joins in, he has a similar history to Snowden: in 1971 he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War, to The New York Times and other newspapers. www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/page1/john_cusack_and_arundhati_roy_things_that_can_and_cannot_be_said_20151201 [02DEC2015]
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AGENT HAMILTON | SWEDISH CRIME DRAMA ![]() Going though the Lumière leaflet a few months ago, I recognised Mikael Persbrandt, who plays the role of Agent Hamilton, I decided to order both dvd's as Persbrandt had made an impression in his role of sidekick to Inspector Beck. en.wikipedia.org: Agent_Hamilton:_But_Not_If_It_Concerns_Your_Daughter
[29NOV2015]
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M TRAIN by PATTI SMITH | BOOKS LITERATURE
Patricia Lee 'Patti' Smith (b. 30Dec1946) is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album 'Horses'. 'M Train' is a kaleidoscopic ballad, a.o. about the losses fate dealt her in the past. Ms Smith lost her husband, the guitarist Fred (Sonic) Smith, to heart failure in 1994 at the age of 45. And her brother, Todd, died a month later of a stroke. Plus she lost her early New York friend and roommate, Robert Mapplethorpe, to AIDS in 1989. I loved how there is a connection with my interests, such as the Scandinavian- & British crime series, but also where she mentions Gordon Lightfoot's song 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald'. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patti_Smith [29NOV2015]
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KICK BACK by VAL McDERMID | BOOKS CRIME FICTION
The book starts with a mystery concerning... conservatories! No threat to the world, M.I5 nor M.I.6 share the scene but fascinating all the same. Conservatories are installed and shortly thereafter they vanish without trace! I must admit that I had difficulties in understanding the intricacies of the fraud: the remortgages and the role of sollicitors in reporting to the land registry. But I like the way the author has depicted the indifference and callousness of the bank here! en.wikipedia.org: Val_McDermid [28NOV2015]
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TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN by JAMES LEE BURKE | BOOKS CRIME FICTION ![]()
en.wikipedia.org: James_Lee_Burke [28NOV2015]
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BOB CARLOS CLARKE, PHOTOGRAPHER | PHOTOGRAPHY ![]()
Bob Carlos Clarke (b.24Jun1950 in Cork, Ireland – died by taking his own life, 25Mar2006) was a prolific photographer, described as 'Britain’s answer to Helmut Newton'. He produced six books during his career: The Illustrated Delta of Venus (W H Allen, 1980), Obsession (Quartet, 1981), The Dark Summer (Quartet, 1985), White Heat (Octopus, 1990), and Shooting Sex (self-published, 2002), ‘Love Dolls Never Die’ (self-published, 2004), and one DVD ‘Too Many Nights’ (Panoramica, 2006). This book 'Exposure' by Simon Garfield (published in 2009) actually was intended to be a book about an agent (titled The Agent), Gislain Pascal; a book about celebrities in a variety of careers, but he stumbled upon the person Bob Carlos Clarke who seemed to represent art, photography, rock music, stardom, erotica, moneyed society all rolled into one. Bob Carlos Clarke was buried at London's Brompton Cemetery (he loved to photograph there), which I visited recently in search of historic cemeteries in London; if only I had known. - en.wikipedia.org: Bob_Carlos_Clarke [09NOV2015]
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ELECTIONS TURKEY 2015 | WORLD NEWS DEMOCRACY ![]() [08nov2015]
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FORTITUDE TV-SERIES | CRIME DRAMA FICTION ![]()
Something about the story. Truly a unique series in the crime drama range of tv entertainment and one which I enjoyed tremendously. With great pleasure I read there may be a second series to follow it up. en.wikipedia.org: Fortitude_(TV_series) [08NOV2015]
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TRUE DETECTIVE TV-SERIES (2) | CRIME DRAMA FICTION ![]()
Wikipedia has a detailed description per episode, 8 in total: [08NOV2015]
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FROM BOSCH TO BRUEGEL - UNCOVERING EVERYDAY LIFE | HISTORY ART
[07Nov2015]
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MARCH VIOLETS by PHILIP KERR | BOOKS CRIME FICTION ![]()
Gunther is a wisecracking world-weary policeman, navigating his way through the darkening streets of Berlin: dark political clouds gathering. www.telegraph.co.uk: Philip Kerr, interview [26OCT2015]
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RAMBLIN' ROOTS 2015 | MUSIC AMERICANA ALT.COUNTRY ![]() My first visit to the new TivoliVredenburg theatre, in the centre of Utrecht (NL). Reason of the visit was Ramblin' Roots 2015, a new music festival proclaiming a search for a mix of roots music, americana, alt.country, soul and blues... A tall order, but I think most people would have found acts of interest. More photos of mine on my Flickr.com account [26OCT2015]
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HYPNOSE by LARS KEPLER | BOOKS CRIME FICTION ![]()
This book is a hefty volume, but it never bored me. Maybe the part where Erik Maria Bark looks (or perhaps I should say 'relived') back on his short career as psychologist/hypnotist was a bit long-winded, but it is apparent that it is of great importance to the story, to the threat on the safety of his family. 'The Hypnotist' is a gripping crime novel and I expect to read more books by Lars Kepler. [24OCT2015]
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THINKING, FAST AND SLOW by DANIEL KAHNEMAN | BOOKS ECONOMICS PSYCHOLOGY ![]() Daniel Kahneman has been called the world's most influential living psychologist; it has been said that he pretty much created the field of behavioural economics and has revolutionised large parts of cognitive psychology and social psychology.
Throughout the book 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' (which I read in Dutch, titled 'Ons Feilbare Denken') the reader will find that human reasoning left to its own devices is apt to engage in a number of fallacies and systematic errors; so if we want to make better decisions in our personal lives and as a society, we ought to be aware of these biases and seek workarounds. That's an important discovery and useful in affairs of everyday.
Daniel Kahneman often refers in this book to research done with Amos Tversky, a cognitive psychologist who died in 1996. They had worked together on many projects and research since the early 1970s.
After the death of Tversky, Kahneman took on 'hedonic psychology': the science of happiness, its nature and its causes. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/dec/13/thinking-fast-slow-daniel-kahneman
Wikipedia:
[23OCT2015]
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LIONHEART by SHARON KAY PENMAN | BOOKS HISTORY FICTION ![]()
So for those unfamiliar with the Plantagenets, a little history to start with. en.wikipedia.org: Sharon_Kay_Penman [10OCT2015]
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THE FALL (SERIES II) | TV CRIME DRAMA ![]()
'The Fall' is a British BBC and Irish (RTÉ) crime drama television series, filmed and set in Northern Ireland. It is created, written and, in its second series, directed by Allan Cubitt, produced by Artists Studio and shown on RTÉ One in the Republic of Ireland, and BBC Two in the UK. Series I ended with Paul escaping, with his family, to Scotland. The marriage is more or less on the rocks and Paul's wife Sally Anne returns to Belfast, taking their daughter with her. Paul moves after them later on. Stella manages to find a former girlfriend of Paul and Rose Stagg reluctantly reveals more of Spectors psyche; the police team dig deeper into the background of Paul Spector. A nice bit of titbit info learned from Wikipedia: Stella Gibson (both Stella and Gibson are brands of guitar), Spector, Martin, Hagstrom, Eastwood, Stagg, Kay, Paul Reed Smith, Breedlove and Burns, Bacon & Day are all names of guitar manufacturers! In March 2015, it was announced that a third series of 'The Fall' had been commissioned by the BBC; looking forward to that! en.wikipedia.org: The_Fall_(TV_series) [07OCT2015]
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LES TÉMOINS (TV SERIES) | CRIME DRAME TV
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Les Témoins (in English: 'Witnesses') is set in the small coastal town of Le Tréport in northern France, where the bodies of murder victims are being unearthed and left for discovery in newly built model houses. The former chief-of-police, Paul Maisonneuve (Thierry Lhermitte), is implicated in the murders, for each house also has an insignificant clue referring to him. As the proverbial onion the mystery unravels, layer by layer new discoveries are made, until finally the murderous mastermind is apprehended. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witnesses_(TV_series) [07OCT2015]
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SAFE HOUSE | TV CRIME DRAMA ![]()
[05OCT2015]
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