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. |
JOHAN CRUIJFF | FOOTBALL SPORTS PERSONALITY ![]() JOHAN CRUIJFF 25Apr1947 – 24Mar2016 R.I.P.
Hendrik Johannes 'Johan' Cruijff, anglicised to Cruyff (b.25Apr1947 – d.24Mar2016) was a Dutch professional football player and coach.
As a player he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974.
At club level, Cruyff started his career at Ajax where he won eight Eredivisie titles, three European Cups and one Intercontinental Cup. In 1973 he moved to FC Barcelona for a world record transfer fee, winning La Liga in his first season and was named European Footballer of the Year.
Considered to be one of the most influential figures in football history, Cruyff's style of play and his football philosophy has influenced managers and players including Frank Rijkaard, Pep Guardiola, Michael Laudrup, Arsène Wenger, Eric Cantona and Xavi. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Cruyff [29MAR2016]
|
ROBIN DE PUY ON A US ROADTRIP | PHOTOGRAPHY DOCUMENTARY PORTRAITS
www.robindepuy.nl More images taken by me of this exhibition on MyFlickr Information copied from the museum: Robin de Puy's thoughts, jotted down in her journal on 4 June 2015. At that point, she had been in America for four weeks and covered 4908 km on her Harley-Davidson. Another six weeks and 5092 km to go. De Puy is a young portrait photographer in great demand. In 2014, she decided to go on the trip as a way of escaping the pressure of public expectations. Her success has a downside: the constant flood of commissions leaves her almost no time for autonomous work and she feared losing her sense of creative freedom. Her American road trip gave her the chance to go back to deciding for herself what to photograph. The result is a splendid series of portraits, now presented by the Hague Museum of Photography in the photographer's first ever solo show in a museum setting. Robin de Puy is currently one of the Netherlands' most popular portrait photographers. Her career took off immediately after she graduated from the Fotoacademie. Her Girls in Prostitution series won her the Photo Academy Award for the best final year project of 2009. She went on to win the Dutch National Portrait Prize in 2013 for a photograph of fellow-photographer An-Sofie Kesteleyn, who was seriously ill at the time. Both prizes were presented at ceremonies held in the Hague Museum of Photography, creating a particularly warm relationship between the photographer and the museum. The main clients commissioning De Puy's work are Dutch magazines LINDA and Vrij Nederland and the Volkskrant newspaper. She has recently added international clients like Bloomberg Businessweek and New York Magazine to her CV. De Puy set off across America in May 2015. Her most vital equipment was in her saddlebags: a couple of lamps, two cameras and a lighting umbrella. She followed no set route but toured the country looking for distinctive faces to photograph – people of all ages and both sexes whom she just happened to meet on her travels. She specifically did not want to record social contrasts or the antithesis between urban America and the country's endless empty spaces. Robin de Puy's work adds a new dimension to the classic genre of the American Photographic Road Trip, most famously practised by people like Robert Frank, Jacob Holdt and Alec Soth: her sympathetic portraits could have been taken anywhere between Washington, Warsaw and Vladivostok.
Documentary
Publication [28MAR2016]
|
FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT: STATION TEHRAN | BOOKS NON-FICTION
![]() Carolien Omidi was born in the Netherlands, studied and obtained a Dutch language degree, married a man from Iran and decided in 1999 to make a living in Iran with her family. She works as a correspondent for media such as Trouw (newspaper) and Dutch radio. This book by her (10th in a series by correspondents about their experiences abroad) offers an insight in modern day Iran. The book was published in 2009, by KIT Publishers. Omidi speaks Persian and is a woman; as such she has access to many places a (Western) man cannot go to including the simple fact that she can approach women. Her Western background makes her a sort of third species in Iran, she is treated differently by a.o. Iranian (religious) authorities. With sensible diplomacy and empathy, respecting the many social protocols, she finds her subjects in many layers of the Iranian society. Subjects adressed include religion, satellite discs, foreign influences, temporary marriages, nuclear power, Islam, illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and its consequences, influences from The West and its incomplete view on Iran, 2003 Bam earthquake, how young people meet and seek affection, homosexuality, influence of repression on art and book publishing, national pride of the Iranians... To name but a few! The book gave me an excellent insight into the diversity of Iran as a nation and an increasing knowledge in the complexity of the islamic religion and its practicalities in society; it became very clear to me that the morals and these practicalities of Islam in Iran is or can be very different from countries such as Saudi Arabia.
www.carolienomidi.nl [.....2016]
|
LE BUREAU DES LÉGENDES | FRENCH CRIME FICTION TV SERIES
![]()
Guillaume Debailly (a role by Mathieu Kassovitz) returns from Syria where he was a French teacher; he got himself involved in a relationship with a married Syrian woman and meets her again in Paris: coincidence? She (Nadia El Mansour, played by Zineb Triki ) knows him as Laul Levébre, who is also known inside the DGSE by his alias 'Malotru' and she is interested in continueing their relationship; they have a few rendez-vous in a hotel, but 'Paul' ends it - again). www.canvas.be/le-bureau-des-legendes [23MAR2016]
|
THE BLACK PATH by ÅSA LARSSON | BOOKS CRIME FICTION
![]() Åsa Larsson is not a prolific writer, it seems; a pity as I thoroughly enjoy her writing! Having read 'The Savage Altar' (a.k.a. 'Sun Storm', 2007) , I discussed 'Until Thy Wrath Be Past' (2011) in a 2013 blog. This title 'The Black Path' has been waiting in a pile of books for me and perhaps I left it too late as I felt I should have an understanding of the crisis Rebecka Martinsson suffers from at the start of this book... But I did not remember the details. I found that is because I read the books in the wrong order: I have only just started in 'The Blood Spilt' (2008) and I read 'Until Thy Wrath Be Past' in 2013 while that book was published after 'The Black Path'...
'The Black Path' was translated by Marlaine Delargy from Swedish to English, and while it was published in Sweden in 2006, it was published in the UK as late as 2012 (a year after 'Until Thy Wrath Be Past').
So what is 'The Black Path' about?
So I had no idea what this referred to, I did not remember... But it is the reason why we start with Martinsson being committed for treatment, a situation that brings us back to Sep.2003. She was treated in a hospital for facial injuries (a scar remains visible in her face) and is subsequently treated for psychic trauma.
Rather peculiar to subtitle this book as 'A Rebecka Martinsson Investigation', while in this book we follow Anna-Maria more than Rebecka. But that is of little concern.
Martinsson is discharged from the psychiatric clinic and takes the train to Kiruna; she moves into her grandmother's house in Kurravaara, still on the road to recovery. Rebecka visits a therapist and takes medication. She finds solace in seclusion.
The murdered victim is identified as a woman who worked for an international mining firm with roots in Kiruna; she held a high position in that firm and a motive for her death is unclear. The company seems reluctant to coöperate and Martinsson is requested to make a profile of the company directors as well the company structure, its assets, etc.
But for the other characters involved we see flashbacks to establish where they come from and how their lives interact. This concerns the owner of Kallis Mining Group, Mauri Kallis and his associates, brother and sister, Diddi & Inna (the murder victim) Wattrang.
Mauri, Diddi and Inna are in a peculiar relationship; even so that the relationship interferes with their respectives marriages (Mauri & Ebba, Diddi & Ulrika). They all live on the Regla estate in Södermanland, owned by Mauri Kallis.
Anna-Maria Mella and Sven-Erik Stålnacke continue to investigate the murder, but find themselves short on resources and Kallis Mining seems untouchable. A journalist thought to have hanged himself, is found to have been murdered and probably because he was investigating Kallis Mining. So again I enjoyed Åsa Larsson's descriptions on the fierce cold and hostile environment in Scandinavia's Arctic North, enjoyed getting reacquainted with Rebecka Martinsson and Anna-Maria Melia, the murder plot was captivating, but I do think Larsson overreached herself with some characters, such as Esther. In this respect I would say 'less is more'.
[16MAR2016]
|
JOSEPH FRANCIS CHARLES ROCK (1884 – 1962), Austrian-American explorer
![]()
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Rock [.....2016]
|
LANGS DE OEVERS VAN DE YANGTZE | TRAVEL TV DOCUMENTARY VPRO
![]()
Terlou speaks mandarin fluently and his endearing style opens doors into the homes and lives. Ten years ago, at a very young age, Ruben Terlou tried to make it as a photographer (without a specific education into that respect) and reporter. During two years he tried very hard, studied the language, but he remained an outsider. He returned and decided on a change of career, got a degree in medicin. Until this opportunity to become part of a team presented itself, to make this documentary. From Shanghai on the Chinese coast Ruben tracks, in six episodes, along the banks of the Yangtze, which is the longest river in China.
Ruben Terlou (b. 17May1985) now describes himself as a photographer (besides China he visited Afghanistan), journalist and medical doctor (he acquired his medical degree at the University of Amsterdam). www.rubenterlou.com/work#/yangtze/ [15Mar2016]
|
'WERKLUST' PHOTO EXPOSITION by THEO BAART | PHOTOGRAPHY The first time I went to this gallery, DeMeerse in Hoofddorp; it has limited opening hours
and the entrance is a bit hidden. But I managed to find it and glad I did. It has been described by the author and photographer as a 'Biography of a landscape in use'. Where once crops and potatoes were grown, Theo Baart shows how that landscape was transformed to housing estates, industrial zones; hotels & high rising office buildings now dominate the skyline. [26FEB2016]
|
HAITI, EEN RAMP VOOR JOURNALISTEN by HANS JAAP MELISSEN | BOOKS JOURNALISM
![]()
Hans Jaap Melissen has travelled as a journalist for Dutch and international media through countries like Syria and Iraq, but he confesses to be 'in love' with Haïti and has visited that country many times over the years. Melissen not only 'paints' a portret of Haïti and its habitants, how they deal with and bounce back from such disasters (e.g. earthquakes, hurricanes), but also how they remain dependent on help from NGO's: "keep sending money!" nl.wikipedia.org:_Hans_Jaap_Melissen (Dutch) [26FEB2016]
|
INHERENT VICE by THOMAS PYNCHON | BVOOKS CRIME FICTION NOVEL ![]()
en.wikipedia.org:_Thomas_Pynchon [26FEB2016]
|
REYKJAVIK NIGHTS BY ARNADUR INDRIDASON | BOOKS ICELANDIC CRIME FICTION
![]()
Indridason's book are easy to read, he uses a clear style of writing and a moderate amount of people are involved in the story - which is good as the Icelandic names are not always easy to remember. The translation into Dutch was again by Adriaan Faber, who steers close to the style by Indriðason. 'Reykjavik Nights' goes back to the days when Erlendur Sveinsson was still in uniform, mainly in nighthifts (hence the title). We see him patrolling the streets and going out on calls for bar fights, drunken driving, car accidents and reports of domestic violence. Erlendur had met Hannibal while patrolling the streets of Reykjavik, took pity on him and sometimes let him sleep in an empty cell at the station when Hannibal was at his worst or roughed up. He suspected a tragedy was the cause of Hannibal's vagrant lifestyle and tries talking to him, but was kept at a distance and did not learn much. Erlendur has a fascination for people disappearing without trace, ever since as a child he lost his kid brother in a blizzard and who was also never found. Where, and why, did that woman go? Meanwhile we also learn about Erlendur's rather solitary lifestyle and his developing relationship with Haldóra, his future wife. en.wikipedia.org:_Arnaldur_Indriðason [21FEB2016]
|
FIVE DECADES, A RETROSPECTIVE - WILLIAM A. ALLARD | PHOTOBOOKS
William Albert Allard (b.1937 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American documentary photographer; he refrs to himself as a street shooter. Allard has traveled the world on assignment since 1964. He has photographed (and sometimes written) stories on Mexico and Peru, on France and Spain, on India, and Nevada, Montana, Texas, and Minnesota. Allard is one of the few photographers of his generation whose entire professional body of work is in color. Images from the series 'Vanishing Breed' in this book were among my favourites.
[15FEB2016]
|
AMERICAN NEON SIGNS BY DAY & NIGHT by TOON MICHIELS | PHOTOGRAPHY Visited the Nederlands Fotomuseum today, for this exhibition of work by Toon Michiels. My images of this exhibition on Flickr.com Some information on the book of the same title. [11FEB2016]
|
A QUESTION OF BELIEF by DONNA LEON | BOOKS CRIME FICTION ![]()
A number of books landed with me via an inheritance, several among them by Donna Leon. Her books are all located in Venice, Italy. Her main character Comissario Brunetti is different from most main characters in crime fiction: he has no traumas, is happily married with children, is not a loner in his investigations, does not drink excessively and while frustrated by his superiors knows when to stop frustrating them. And he reads Greek classics! The attraction for me in these books is the way the author weaves in her observations of Italian governmental failings, the inefficiencies of departments, the influence of powerful people on society on how law & order is being applied. The story. I love all the well-observed details about human nature and daily life in Venice. I don't know if its portrayal of police investigations is realistic for Brunetti leaves office when he wants to drink coffee or enjoy lunch at home. But knowing Italy, I wouldn't be surprised. Again a very enjoyable book by Donna Leon! www.eurocrime.co.uk/reviews/ [10FEB2016]
|
THE DUKE OF PUDDLE DOCK by NIGEL BARLEY | BOOKS NON-FICTION BIOGRAPHY ![]()
In the annals of the British Empire, Raffles (1781-1826) is the rare figure whose life explains a great deal of the impetus behind imperialism. A proconsul of the East India Company, he founded Singapore, contested the Dutch for the domains of Java, Sumatra, and Malaysia, but was most distinguished as a dedicated naturalist and ethnographer. Fascinated by his life, Barley resolved to retrace Raffles' journeys. He finds parallel characteristics between Raffles and 'Bung Karno' a.k.a. Sukarno, the first President of the Republic Indonesia; to illustrate this Barley quotes from various sources. Raffles had observed that 'education' in Malaysia concerned teachings of the Koran, not about the Malaysian history & culture; he preserved a treasure of Malaysian documents and writings, which alas perished in the fire and sinking of the ship 'Fame'; he also wrote History of Java and had that published upon his first return in London. While I thought Victoria Glendinning's 'Raffles and the Golden Opportunity' an absolute thorough biography on Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, this book by Nigel Barley further brought home to me certain characteristics of Raffles and more importantly how he is perceived in modern times by the common In conclusion: I thoroughly enjoyed rereading this book. en.wikipedia.org:_Nigel_Barley_(anthropologist) [10FEB2016]
|
NEXT STOP NEW YORK by ARTHUR LEIPZIG | PHOTOBOOK STREETPHOTOGRAPHY
Arthur Leipzig (b.25Oct1918 - d.05Dec2014) was an American photographer who specialized in street photography and was known for his photographs of New York City. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1918, Leipzig's journey into photography started in 1941 when he registered for a $6 class at New York's Photo League, brandishing a 9 x 12 Zeiss Ikon. He'd been forced to look for different work after he'd suffered a serious injury on his right hand while working in a glass factory; by his own declaration, having come across photography, it was love at first sight and he knew what he was going to do for the rest of his life. The Photo League, begun in 1936, was made up of amateur and professional photographers dedicated to promoting social documentary photography as well as photography as an art form. Leipzig studied with Sid Grossman and Paul Strand and at that time was exposed to seminal figures such as Berenice Abbott and W. Eugene Smith. By 1942 he became a staff photographer for the influential newspaper PM; a liberal publication that used photography in abundance on its pages and allowed its photographers free reign. www.arthurleipzig.com [10FEB2016]
|
BRAQUO | TV CRIME FICTION SERIES DVD BOXSET X
Until recently I had never heard of this French crime fiction series: Braquo. In a sale I came across the Series I & II in dvd boxsets and since I 'discovered' the French series 'The Spiral' (and a few others in the meantime) I have become quite a fan of French crime drama! Braquo is a French crime drama television series created by Olivier Marchal and produced by Capa Drama with the participation of Canal+ in association with Marathon Group, Be-Films and RTBF. The introduction states that crime had changed, becoming more organized and also more violent. And so has the police. Enter Eddy Caplan (Jean-Hugues Anglade) and his team: Walter Morlighem (Joseph Malerba), Théo Vachewski (Nicolas Duvauchelle) and Roxanne Delgado (Karole Rocher). Eddy and his team will find means to an end, even if they have to act outside the law. They book results but their methods are an easy target for those jealous of the results. And indeed their methods, violence and deal making with known criminals, lead them into great difficulties. Looking forward to getting my hands on series 3 and 4!
SEASON 3 is discussed on MyBlog 2017Q3 [09FEB2016]
|
THE LACQUER SCREEN by ROBERT VAN GULIK | BOOKS CRIME FICTION CHINA ![]() Robert Hans van Gulik (b.09Aug1910 – d.24Sep1967) was a Dutch orientalist, diplomat, musician (of the guqin), and writer; as an author he is best known for the Judge Dee historical mysteries, the protagonist of which he borrowed from the 18th-century Chinese detective novel Dee Goong An. After WW2 van Gulik returned to the Netherlands and his next employment was in Washington D.C. Blood being thicker than water, events saw him return to Japan in 1949. While in Tokyo, he published his first two books, one of which was a translation: "Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee", an 18th-century detective novel originally titled 'Dee Goong An' (the famous cases of Dee). The main character of this book, Judge Dee, is based on the real statesman and detective Di Renjie, who lived in the 7th century, during the Tang Dynasty (AD 600–900), though in the novel itself elements of Ming Dynasty China (AD 1300–1600) were mixed in. The reviews were good, and van Gulik wrote two more books (The Chinese Bell Murders and The Chinese Lake Murders) over the next few years, also with an eye toward Japanese and then Chinese editions. Next, van Gulik found a publisher for English versions of the stories, and the first such version was published in 1957. Later books were written and published in English first; the translations came afterwards. The murder mystery in The Lacquer Screen concerns the murder of a magistrate's wife in Judge Dee's neighbouring district Wei-ping; Dee left his own district Foe-lai and travels incognito through the province of Shantoeng with only one of his helpers, Tsjiao Tai. en.wikipedia.org:_Robert_van_Gulik
[02FEB2016]
|
ZILVEREN CAMERA 2015 AWARD | PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS PHOTOJOURNALISM
[26JAN2016]
|
EILAND 7, BERICHTEN UIT DE NIEUWBOUWWIJK | URBAN CHANGES It is nice to see someone shares an interest, Theo Baart shares my interest in documenting the changes of the urban environment
and has taken it to a professional level as his book 'Werklust' showed (discussed Blog 12Dec2015). Theo Baart moved in Dec.2004 into a newly built house, in an area that had onlyt recently been used to grow potatoes. [24JAN2016]
|
AMONG THE CELESTIALS, CHINA IN EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS | PHOTOBOOK HISTORY 'Among the Celestials, subtitled 'China in Early
Photographs' is a photobook accompanying an exhibition of the same name (which I visited in the 'Rijksmuseum' last year). Photography was brought to China by westerners, reaching China during the First Opium War of 1839-1842. Until 1900 the medium spread mostly according to Western presence, driven by a curiosity for a very old culture with well-established traditions and modes of representations. The earliest known/identified photographs of China are by Jules Itier, a French amateur daguerreotypist and date from 1844-1845. Photographic processes developed over time: from single-copy daguerreotype available in 1839 to glass plates in the mid-1850s. The long exposure times created ghosts in the images, people or animals' movements recorded as a blur during the exposure time. I love the streetscenes (with 'ghosts' and all), customs like 'peep shows' and criminals awaiting justice (including beheadings) and for the portraiture I am fascinated by the women's 'bound feet'. [21JAN2016]
|
'REAL WINTERS' in TEYLERS MUSEUM | ART PAINTINGS
'Real Winters, winter paintings from 19th century'
- exhibition in Teylers Museum (Haarlem,NL). The exhibition did not stop at a collection of masterpieces, but also pointed out how these paintings illustrate the effect of the cold on people (e.g. widespread unemployment, the harsh cold penetrating insufficient clothing and houses) and trade (e.g. when ships were stranded in frozen ice flows) and the dangers of ice accumulation against dykes, causing them to break and resulting in widespread flooding of the lowlands. www.teylersmuseum.nl/en/ [20JAN2016]
|
LEE VAN CLEEF, ACTOR Recently I watched a rerun of Captain Apache, starring Lee van Cleef (and
Carroll Baker and Stuart Whitman). I grew up in a village with a very modest cinema: one room at the local library. Films passed here only after they had made the complete tour along cinemas and film houses, we were the very last to see them. The plot of this western: A Native American born US Army officer, Captain Apache, investigating a murder, uncovers a presidential assassination plot. It manages an ending that perhaps one might not have expected. Clarence Leroy 'Lee' Van Cleef, Jr. (b.09Jan1925 – d.06Dec1989) was an American actor who appeared mostly in Westerns and action films. en.wikipedia.org:_Lee_Van_Cleef [18JAN2016]
|
STANDING IN ANOTHER MAN'S GRAVE by IAN RANKIN | BOOKS CRIME FICTION
![]()
And it is good to have John Rebus back on the case, with all his faults and contacts 'on the other side of the legal fence'; he's even become, grudgingly, drinking buddies with Cafferty! In 'Standing in Another Man's Grave' refers to Rebus mishearing the title of a song by (late) Scottish singer Jackie Leven, 'another man's rain'; the book is dedicated to Leven, which is a nice gesture. Rankin's fans know about his love, and signature, for quoting bands and album titles, this book is no different. Rebus decides to read the case files, particularly as an ongoing missing person case also has links to the same road... More than once Sibhan is warned, and realizes, that the working methods and ethics of John Rebus has no place in the modern police force. Malcolm Fox is aware of Rebus intention to apply for a job in the force again, faces him directly and warns Clarke that Rebus will take her down with him. So the location for this crime story is not Edinburgh, but rather the A9. Rankin often describes the A9 and its tribulations, roadworks & heavy traffic, that I am quite resolved to drive it myself one day. www.theguardian.com/books/2012...standing-mans-grave-review
[17JAN2016]
|
ACQUITTED | CRIME DRAMA DVD BOXSET
Aksel finds his mother and brother have grave doubts about his innocence too and this obviously strains the relationship. Younger brother Erik has given up his dream to become a ski instructor on Chamonix, seeing the need to take care of his mother after Aksle fled. Erik is in a difficult relationship with a girl in town. When 'Solar Tec' headed for the fall, it was lead by Eva Hansteen (a fantastic role by Lena Endre), the mother of the girl that got killed. She nursed an obsession for Aksel being guilty of the murder committed and steps down as CEO of 'Solar Tec', unable to accept Aksel in the firm. Another Scandinavian drama series that comes well recommended. www.imdb.com [16JAN2016]
|
RELICS OF THE COLD WAR by MARTIN ROEMERS | BOOKS PHOTOGRAPHY The Cold War is over — yet signs of it still exist. For 40 years the Iron Curtain divided the countries of Europe into East and West. The arms race was unleashed, nuclear fallout shelters were constructed, and everyone braced for the worst. I love this sort of documentary photography! www.martinroemers.com/books.php [15JAN2016]
|
WIR SCHAFFEN DAS - OOPS by JOEP BERTRAM | CARTOON MEDIA WORLD ![]() Published in De Groene Amsterdam 14Jan2016. [15JAN2016]
|
UKRAINE EU REFERENDUM | MEDIA WORLD POLITICS ![]()
The decision to hold a referendum was made after more than 427.000 valid requests were received within 6 weeks, more than the required number of 300.000 requests. The referendum will be suspensory and non-binding however... I don't really know enough of all ins-and-outs of this matter, but I do know it is a chance to speak up. My consideration to help Ukraine against Russia is too simplified for this matter, and it is outweighed by my negative sentiments: the Dutch government (Rutte et all) steamrolling over negative sentiments with his mantra & lies: "the agreement is good for Dutch export, is good for jobs and the people". So I will be voting NO! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Ukraine_European_Union_Association_Agreement_referendum,_2016 [15JAN2016]
|
RAFFLES by VICTORIA GLENDINNING | BOOKS HISTORY ![]()
Thomas Stamford Raffles was born the son of an impoverished sea captain in 1781, he worked his way up in the East India Company to become a minor official on the island of Penang - an overseas career provided opportunities for wealth and a career; he became Governor of Java (until it was relinquished to the Dutch; his first wife Olivia died in Java), returned to Britain, went back to Sumatra in 1818 again for the East India Company (to Bencoolen, accompanied by his 2nd wife Sophia), founded Singapore in 1819, died in Britain in 1826 (aged 45) due to a brain haemorrhage - having suffered from ill health (and mercury treatments) most of his life. The author, Victoria Glendinning, is unusual in including almost as much about Raffles's relatives and friends as about him. These people were crucial to his career as well as to his happiness; especially his two wives, the vivacious Olivia, who died in 1814, and then the strong and resourceful Sophia, who bore him his children, and fanned his reputation, and her own, after Raffles's death. Thomas Stamford Raffles was a utopian imperalist, linguist, naturalist, collector as well as a troublesome visionary. When he returned to London the first time, he brought an enormous collection of documents, drawings, (stuffed) animals, artifacts, etc., with him. He proceeded to write and publish The History of Java. en.wikipedia.org: Stamford_Raffles
[13JAN2016]
|
DANA LIXENBERG - IMPERIAL COURTS 1993-2015 | PHOTOGRAPHY
Earlier this week I visited Huis Marseille Photography Museum in Amsterdam, a.o. for this exhibition of work by Dana Lixenberg. A few years ago I bought her book documenting the population of Shishmaref, an Inupiaq Eskimo community on an island in the far northwest corner of Alaska. This is another long term project by her, investing in documenting a group of people / community. In 1992, Dana Lixenberg travelled to South Central Los Angeles for a magazine story on the riots that erupted following the verdict in the Rodney King trial. What she encountered inspired her to revisit the area, and led her to the community of the Imperial Courts housing project in Watts. en.wikipedia.org: Dana_Lixenberg [08JAN2016]
|
MARTIN ROEMERS - METROPOLIS | PHOTOGRAPHY Martin Roemers does not focus on the architectural silhouette of the city, his focus is on the stream of human energy that make
the city what it is.
[07JAN2016]
|
FRANCESCA WOODMAN A.O. IN FOAM | PHOTOGRAPHY
Francesca Stern Woodman was an American photographer best known for her black and white pictures featuring either herself or female models. Many of her photographs show young women who are nude, blurred (due to movement and long exposure times), merging with their surroundings, or whose faces are obscured. I am not a great fan of the miniature size of most images on display, however they do emphasize their rather intimate character. [07JAN2016]
|
NEWSHA TAVAKOLIAN | PHOTOGRAPHER
Best known for her iconic photographs of struggle and conflict, Newsha Tavakolian creates opportunities to decipher the human condition with candor and sensitivity. I attended the exhibition at the Prince Claus Fund Gallery in Amsterdam (Herengracht 603) today. The exhibition shows her personal work and the fruits of her work as a photojournalist. The contrast is rather striking, though I found the persons portrayed ('Look') invariably 'closed' in their expressions. It probably tells us something about living in Iran. www.princeclausfund.org [06JAN2016]
|
SCHEMERSPEL by ARNALDUR INDRIÐASON | BOOKS CRIME FICTION
![]() Over the years (2010Q2 - 2011Q2 - 2012Q2 - 2013Q2 - 2014Q1 - 2014Q4 - 2015Q1 - 2015Q3) I have frequently testified of my enthusiasm for this Icelandic writer. This time is no different! Indridason's book are easy to read, he uses a clear style of writing and a moderate amount of people are involved in the story - which is good as the Icelandic names are something to get used to. The translater, Adriaan Faber, has taken the trouble to explain the use and pronunciation of letters such as ð. I have read a remark that the book cannot be described a thriller (no problem to read this book before bedtime), but rather a 'detective'. I would say the modern tag 'literary crime drama' is very suitable, for me it was nothing short of a 'page-turner'. [05JAN2016]
|
THE BIRTH OF A REPUBLIC / FRANCIS STAFFORD'S CHINA 1911 | PHOTOBOOK
My fascination for, besides photography,
China has brought me to buy three wonderful photobooks in 2015; this one is the third, bought last november. The Birth of a Republic' by Hanchao Lu is subtitled Francis Stafford's photographs of China's 1911 Revolution and Beyond. A wonderful document which I came across in a Half-Price Bookstore in Texas last november: truly an exquisite find! Francis E. Stafford (b.03Feb1884 in Boulder,CO - d.01Feb1938) moved to Shanghai in 1909 where he worked for Commercial Press. Stafford trained his lens on the leaders of the revolutionaries, the imperial court, and the generals, foot soldiers as well as on the common people. en.wikipedia.org: Francis_Stafford [03JAN2016]
|