Surfing the Waves of Time

Community support

2009-09-15T09:52:00.003+02:00

I usually don't post links here, because we have Twitter for that. But this time I will.

So here is the LINK. An online community for athletes being reduced to pathetic piles of human rubble after all kind of orthopedic surgery.

Now I'm one of them.

Gimme stitches

2009-09-15T09:38:00.005+02:00

The day after tomorrow I'm getting surgery - and I'm scared shitless. The plan is to fix my torn labrum (shoulder) by an arthroscopic procedure. Even though it's a short and relatively simple procedure, it sucks big time - the recovery period is long (6 months at least) and by the time I will see the inside of a gym again (somewhere in May 2010) it's gonna be starting over from 0 again.

Anyone has any better ideas than my surgeon?

I don't like the idea of being cut open, or get a bunch of incisions for that matter, I don't like the idea of being left-handed for almost two months, nor do I like the idea of getting a syringe poked in my neck for the anesthetic. But the idea that I'm gonna be a wimpy little fatty with arms the size of toothpicks and a stomach that stands out further than my chest, is just the biggest fucking nightmare of my life.

Driving exam... the Georgian way

2009-07-15T19:41:00.003+02:00

One could argue that obtaining a driver's license in Georgia is pretty easy. After all, every idiot has one, and nobody can really drive anyway. In about a week from now I'm planning on passing the examinations and become the latest addition to the dangerous folk occupying the streets of Tbilisi.

Even if I say so myself, I can drive. Therefore it's not the practical examination I'm worried about. The theoretical examination is what gives me some cause for concern. Being a multi-cultural country, Georgia offers the theoretical examination in no less than 8 different languages (Georgian, Russian, Turkish, Armenian, Azeri, Ossetian, Abkhazian and of course English).

Very cool. Even foreigners like me, who don't speak Russian and who only know basic every day Georgian can get a license. You'd think so. However, the English translation of the exam is so stunningly bad that at times it's impossible to understand what the question actually means. From simple mistakes like saying "dry" where they mean "wet", to confusing left with right and scentence construction that makes you wonder whether the person doing the translation actually knew any English at all.

Very funny. Except when you actually have to pass the examination, of course.

Below the highlights:

I answered 3 on this one. Only to find out later option 1 should read "wet".

Watch the indicator light in the image. What way am I going?

This would be rape of the English language.

AWOL

2008-12-14T08:09:00.003+01:00

OK, so I haven't posted much lately - to say I have been super-busy might be a slight overstatement, but I have definately been caught up in all kind of stuff that comes with settling in a weird place like this. Moving to another apartment. Getting paperwork done with the bank. Getting driving lessons. Going to the gym. Yea, all lame excuses, but anyway.

Just for continuity's sake, I'm posting two pictures. The first is the charming building I live in. And, as it's holiday season, one of the christmas decorations on Tavisuplebis Moedani (Freedom Square).

My building; my flat is on the 4th floor (3rd floor European counting) right underneath the brown DIY balcony-extention.

Turning the St. George statue into something vaguely resembling a christmas tree on Tavisupleba.

Greenback fun

2008-10-03T14:01:00.003+02:00

Last Wednesday I signed the contract for my new house. As I was paying the first and last month rent at the time of signing, I took out 1100 dollars and played around with the notes before handing them to my landlady.

Signing the contract!

Now if this ain't gangsta I dunno what is

Charming innit?

The Giant Sand Castle

2008-09-12T18:13:00.005+02:00

If you have one and-a-half hour to spend in Barcelona, what are you gonna see? I opted for the Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's mega project, still under construction after 90 years.

Now this thing is weird. It looks like some giant sand castle made by some overenthousiastic wonder kid.

Still under construction - the whole thing is full of strange elements like the fruity colored bulbs on top of the left wing arches (click to zoom).

The tower looks more like a minaret than a church tower.

Now what is this thing? This looks like some Stalinist thing in a dodgy ex-Soviet republic.

From the distance the thing makes more sense. And you can't really say it's ugly anyway.

Wartime Khachapuri

2008-09-11T22:50:00.007+02:00

On the Batumi harbor, right in the middle of the two main quays is a nice restaurant. It makes an excellent Acharuli xachapuri.

The quay seen from the restaurant

The view is really nice, the xachapuri heavy and fat (the way it should be) and the Kazbegi is cold. Meanwhile, about 50 km North, the Russian troops are setting up checkpoints in Poti, blowing up stuff in the harbor and looting the warehouses and the recently opened free-trade zone. We ordered another Kazbegi.

Batumi was busy as ever, just without a functioning mobile phone network and ATM's empty

One of the waitresses got a txt and told us the Russians had taken Zugdidi, a quite major town for its region, and were advancing in both the central and the Western part of the country.

The harbor view of the restaurant

The night before, four jets flew over and dropped some bombs, probably on the tarmac of Batumi Airport (I wasn't sure exactly were the bombs fell as the airport looked fine driving past it, but later there was an article on Rustavi2 about the reopening of the place).

Some jellyfish moved slowly through the water making the silence even more weird

There were some coast guard ships out front but it seemed really tranquille. There wasn't any boat traffic, even though it was the only functioning major port in Georgia at the time. I ordered my xachapuri without the lump of butter in order not to OD on the fat, so I actually got to finishing it.

Georgian coast guard

When the xachapuris were finished we decided to leave, as we were in what could be considered a prime candidate for bombing. Unfortunately I didn't get another xachapuri that time.

The beach of Kobuleti, North of Batumi at the time of picture about 30 km away from Russian troops

Trainspotting

2008-09-10T08:54:00.003+02:00

On my way to the airport I stumbled upon the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Haarlem central station. For the occasion they pulled some historic trains out and had people in 1890's clothes walking the platforms.

The movie is a 1920's 'Blokkendoos' EMU with a 1200 series at the end.

Old machines rock.

How to ruin a perfectly fine place

2008-09-09T06:59:00.006+02:00

Last July I travelled to Bulgaria, as a friend of mine was holidaymaking over there and I thought it would be fun to drop by. After sleeping off the hangover from the Gentse Feesten (see previous post) I continued on to Brussels and Paris and took a snail munchers flight (Air France, the bastards that took over our national pride, the KLM) from there to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.

The beautiful Bulgarian countryside

After arriving in Sofia, I took a train all the way across the country to Burgas in order to end up about 40 clicks south of there in the holiday resort called Sunny Beach. The fact that the place only had an English name should've been a sign on the wall, but after the travel ordeals from the days before I didn't quite put 1 and 1 together.

Did I mention it was beautiful?

Sunny Beach is an absolutely fucking horrible place. It's filled with cheap apartment complexes and resorts, aimed at the package holiday people from Holland, Britain, Scandinavia and, sadly, Russia. Now those people aren't usually the friendliest, civillized people but this was really something.

Delapitated Soviet-era industries are found throughout the countryside

Upon arrival, I went out with my friends to a place called "the Flying Dutchman". Uh oh. The place was filled with Dutch working-class proletariat aged 16-23 gulping down huge quantities of lager. The joint played only the worst of the worst of Dutch-language music and of course everybody sung along until their lungs bursted. Now I'm no clubber, or good at drinking for that matter. That being said, I quickly realised I had to get drunk and stay drunk in order to retain at least some appreciation of the place.

How unlike the rest of Bulgaria.

The group of people I visited took a package holiday and were flown in by charter flight to Burgas airport. By taking the train across the country I got a view of the real Bulgaria that most people at Sunny Beach don't even know existed. The countryside is beautiful, with endless sunflower fields, mountains, sleepy villages and old fashioned sheperds who actually wove as the train passed by. Truly another century.

The sunflower fields

Apart from that the countryside is also poor as hell. In Georgia I've seen a horse cart once. In Bulgaria it seems to be the preferred method of transport. I seriously don't know what this country is doing in the EU. It seemed poorer and less developed than the Ukraine or Georgia.

NOW I'm feeling at home :)

The Sunny Beach resort was filled with gypsies and other kinds of scum trying to rip off western tourists. Literally everybody tried to rip you off with something there. Taxi's were even more expensive than in Holland. In Sofia taxi's are metered and charge 0,70 Lev for a kilometer (about 0,35 euro's). But in Sunny Beach you'd pay 30 Lev for a three mile ride down to the clubs (about 15 euro's).

Interior of a really cool beach club in Sunny Beach, for some reason most western tourists went 'downtown' to the clubs instead of this chilled-out place with waitresses straight out of a fashion magazine.

Some 2 days after my arrival we went to a place called the "Heineken House". The name sounded alarming but I chose to tag along anyway. The name didn't say too much - it was exactly as I imagined it to be. Hordes of drunken Dutch, Dutch beer and Dutch music. Geez.

My 'fellow' countrymen enjoying their holidays at the "Heineken House"

After three days I had enough and went out. The last day was nice actually, going to the beach located a mere 800 meters from the apartment building (for some reason the people at the apartment hadn't found this beach in the 10 days they were there already). I love the Black Sea. It doesn't have any decent waves, but the water is very warm and slightly less salty than other seas making it excellent for swimming.

The beach, with a view on a peninsula with a semi-authentic town

Taking a domestic flight from Burgas to Sofia with a stopover in Varna I connected to the AirSnailmunchers flight back to Paris, in order to miss my connection at CDG and not being helped a single inch further by the airline staff. When I informed the flight attendant (some really creepy French dude) that I was about to miss my connection he just said 'ai ai ai' and continued walking down the aisle.

Now this is what Bulgaria looks like

Air France, I will never set foot on any of your crappy flights again. And keep those paws off KLM.

Just for the record, and for the sake of not pissing off the group of people whose hospitality I enjoyed; I really did have fun. Definately a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Good to experience it once, but I'll never do it again.

Kickin' it up in Gent

2008-09-09T06:16:00.005+02:00

Through the Netherlands flows the great Rhine delta, splitting the country in the northern, Calvinist, part and the southern, Catholic part. This line is a dividing line in more ways than one. People south of the rivers are just, well, different. The accent is just one of the ways this expresses itself. Prime example is the carnaval. The south of the country completely shuts down for a week in February, while in the north it really seems absolutely nothing is happening (which mostly is the case, actually)

View from the VIP stage

However, south of the south of the Netherlands is another dividing line. It's called the Belgian border. The Belgians are often the butt of Dutch jokes (how many Belgians does it take to screw in a light bulb?) but I have a weak spot for them. Their accent is cute. And as long as you're not working with them, they are very nice people. Much more polite and considerate than the potato farmers in the north.

Gent has canals as well

Last July I went to Gent (Ghent) to attend the 'Gentse Feesten', or Ghent Parties. The whole city centre is transformed into one big party ground, with stages and performances on literally every square. On invitation of one of my Belgian colleagues me and a mate of mine went down to Gent to see what the fuss was about and down a pint or two.

The Pole Pole stage at night

Arriving at the Gent Parties, I got VIP tickets to the Pole Pole stage (thanks Johan!) and took in the atmosphere. Gent is very beautiful, I have to admit I underestimated the place. Apart from the magnificent scenery, it was a real party. Real in the sense of a genuine party vibe going on, without any of the agressiveness and fake-heartedness that usually accompanies these kind of events in the north.

Flemish logic/humor on a sign indicating a handicapped parking spot: "If you take my parking spot, take my handicap as well!"

Even though I'd never want to live there, I can only say that the northern clay munchers have definately something to learn from our southern neighbours.

One more thing about smoking...

2008-09-09T05:55:00.005+02:00

One more thing about smoking. Yeah, I know I have covered this subject before, but the smoking regulations in California keep pissing me off. Of course, you feel sorta like a loser when you have to walk away from a nice dinner with a group of friends to go outside. Of course it's annoying that you can't smoke in bars or clubs. But a non-smoking beach? Out in the fresh air?

Yes. At least in Santa Monica. Apart from the fact that the anti-smoking rules/laws are hitting the point of going beyond being reasonable, there is some hypocrisy involved as well. The city government not wanting any butts on the beach is perfectly understandable, the same goes for any other form of rubbish.

On Sunday I was out surfing at Venice, and was literally paddling through sewage. However, there isn't a single cigarette butt to be found on the beach. The nasty greenish-yellowish foam can make you sick, give you all kinds of rashes and what not. Cigarette butts on the beach are just nasty, but not more than that.

So where exactly are the priorities? Rats.

Holiday in the Axis of Evil

2008-07-11T22:08:00.006+02:00

On the western Caspian Sea coast lies the Republic of Azerbaijan. This former Soviet Republic emerged out of post-Soviet wars and chaos roughly along the lines of it's borders within the Soviet Union. It's rich in oil, which means Western corporations were eager to jump into this newly-opened market as soon as the worst turmoils calmed down.

Heydar Aliyev billboard right in front of my hotel

Major oil companies have their interests there. However, the for example BP regional HQ for the Southern Caucasus is in Tbilisi. Which points out the main point of interest of Azerbaijan: it is a fairly nasty place.

Father & Son

Run since independence by Heydar Aliyev, it's a joke of a democracy. Media is restricted, officials are corrupt, effort put into keeping people ignorant and the wealth is shared with about 10 families surrounding the President. When Heydar Aliyev died in 2003, he was succeeded by nobody less than his own son.

Puzzle: find the Heydar Aliyev advertising

With no intention of moving anywhere beyond an oil-fueled olicharchy he sits firmly in the saddle. The fact that this happens right under the noses of all NGO's in the region and the EU makes no difference.

The newly built "Presidential Palace of the Republic"

As long as they keep supplying oil to the West (with obviously the US at the head of the parade) nobody will point a finger at their comfortable almost feudal positions of wealth and power and their second-rank dictatorship. And Aliyev knows that damn well.

N.B. Pictures courtesy of my good friend Vincent "Vinnie" Boot. Primary objective: get imagery safely out of the country in order to reach Tbilisi-based laptop. Status: phone lost, FAILED. ;-)

The Skies over Holland

2008-07-11T21:28:00.004+02:00

The skies over Holland are an ancient favourite of painters, photographers and cloud-staring hippies. And, with reason. I have to admit that, even though I hate the place to my guts, there isn't a single place in the world with more beautiful skies than Holland. The Dutch (or 'Hollandish' would be the adjective here) skies seem higher, larger and with more depth.

Some nice examples:

Kenaustraat

Raaks construction site (former Vestestraat pictured)

Sunset from my window

Sunset over Raaks terrain

Kleverlaan, rainy afternoon

KPN Tower from KPN Lake

Sunset over the former Ripperda cavalry barracks

Another sunset from my window, somewhere in '06

Sunrise from my window

Early evening 7/8 from my window

God Save the Queen

2008-06-29T10:54:00.007+02:00

Somewhere in a far-out corner of Europe is a shitty little country below sea level. This patch of mud is headed by the house of Van Oranje-Nassau. Their name inspired the national colour: orange.

Queensday in Amsterdam

Twice on even years and once on odd years*, this entire place turns orange. Orange flags, decorative crap, random things painted orange, orage hair spray-paint, orange outfits, orange everything with the occasional red-white-blue thing to break the Orange Ocean. The national dress-up occasions are usually accompanied by vast amounts of beer, dope, puke and random drunken chants.

Queensday in Amsterdam, boatin' around

So yea, that's how that swamp folk entertains themselves on the few occasions there are. But, let's not confuse the orange-mania with actual patriotism. That's still a dirty word in the Low Countries, and of course only practiced by facsists and reactionary Christian-fundamentalists like Andre Rouvoet (Holland's minister for Youth and Family affairs - yeah, that's actually a ministry).

Queensday in Amsterdam, the "Golden Corner" of the Herengracht

That's why orange is widely accepted as our national colour, relating to the House of Orange and the monarchy. However, the use of the red-white-blue is considered nationalistic and henceforth "not done". Put a Dutch flag on the sleeve of your jacket and you're sure to get a beating by some of the rogue-Xth-generation-immigrants because you're a nazi, neo-fascist, "NSB'er"*, or something else dirty.

Queensday in Amsterdam. This is more of an 'art for art's sake' picture, but it's some rave in a parking garage opposite the Stadhouderskade.

Can't really disagree actually... the people wearing those Dutch flags are mostly wannabe-nazi's. And what kinda douchebag wants to walk around with a Dutch flag in the first place?

* Once a year, April 30th is Queensday, and every two years a World/European Football Championship

* NSB = Nationaal Socialistische Beweging, the Dutch nazi party in the 30's and 40's

Giant Psycho Turtle

2008-06-25T19:30:00.005+02:00

This is some random snippit from the MSW forum, I'm posting it here because it displays what I find funny and most people don't:

- I see your point, but I'll be coming disguised as a giant turtle, until I'm convinced it's safe and there are no psychos or murderers among you.

- a good psycho always waits until everyone feels safe and are drinking in the evening then picks em off one by one as they go to bed / toilet,etc. it makes it far easier and more satisfying the other approach is as we say in the psycho trade..doing a columbine

- Sorry, I'm definitely not coming now. You hear about these things in the news. One minute an innocent surfing trip, the next I'm being gang banged by seventeen fat pagan women with swastika tattoos

Show off stuff

2008-06-24T22:02:00.003+02:00

As you all know, whenever there's something like a World Exhibition, a Football World Championship or Olympics, countries try to go the extra mile when it comes to building their prospective cities of the so-called future.

This is the Estaçaõ do Oriente in Lisboa, Portugal. It was built for the 1998 World Exhibition. Even though I'm no fan of contemporary architecture I like this one.

Goin' Kitch in Kiev

2008-06-24T21:43:00.005+02:00

Couple of weeks ago in Kiev I was again sorta amazed at the Slavic preferences in terms of colours and the general display of flashyness or impersonated wealth. Personally I think this tendency has its roots in the Eastern Orthodox church, as the churches are the worst of all when it comes to the excessive use of gold, bright colours and decorative thingamajigs.

Kiev is a cool place however with lots to see and a pack of cigarettes costing only 0.60 euros - even cheaper than Georgia. Hotels are very reasonably priced and mostly up to western standards. Transportation is cheap, beer is cheap, woman are cheap. What else could you possibly want.

The Lion's Den

2008-06-24T21:03:00.005+02:00

How to escape mass tourism? Easy, look for it in the lion's den: the Canary Islands. There isn't a single European holiday destination that gets more charter flights filled with pale British, Dutch and German tourists. Three weeks later they're flown back as the typical bright-red holiday lobsters you see in the streets of Northern Europe during summer. However, it is actually possible to escape the packed discoteques of the all-inclusive holiday resorts.

Last March I went to Lanzarote, the Sodom & Gomorra of western holiday making, and spent a week in a 300-inhabitant village with no ATM, three buses a day and no hotels.

Lanzarote is the northernmost of the Canary Islands. Politically part of Spain, geologically part of Afrika. The island is basically divided in two parts: the Southern part is urbanised and filled with hotels and tourists (luckily the Russians haven't found this one yet) while the Northern part is a nature reserve. The law states that there aren't any hotels, resorts, urban developments, discos and the like allowed.

The little village of Caleta de Famara has close to nothing, but it does have the Playa the Famara with nice waves and an amazing view. The beach is a bay enclosed by a big rocky mountain on the North side, and open to the Atlantic in a NW direction. Any tourist activity going on completely centers around the playa.

This lead to the development of an illegal-but-tolerated bar, Lenny's, with Amstel on draft the only place to go at night for a beer. When the draft wouldn't pour anymore they switched to Heineken on the bottle. Just as you think you're standing on the edge of the world, you don't have any choice but to drink very ordinary Dutch beer. Damn. I would've settled for that Spanish crap.

A room with a view

2008-06-21T14:19:00.000+02:00

If you're ever going to end up in Tbilisi, Georgia - make sure to take the walk up Narikala, a hill overlooking Dzveli Tbilisi (Zveli Tbilisi - Old Tbilisi). On top is an old fortress (or the remnants of it) as it offers a some nice views over the city. On a bright day you can see the peaks of the Greater Caucasus, which are even snow-capped in summer.

Old Tbilisi on the left, the left bank on the right with the Presidential Palace (still) under construction (the Reichstag-like structure with the dome)

The new centre in the background and Old Tbilisi up front.

The TV-tower up on Mtatsminda, through the crenels of Narikala Fortress

Below left some of the little domes of the Sulphur Baths

Banana Republic

2008-06-21T13:44:00.003+02:00

About five weeks ago I was in Batumi, Georgia. I hadn't been there for two years, so it was nice to be back.

The semi-Carribean banana republic athmosphere was as always present in the streets of Batumi, complete with palm-trees and other (sub)tropical plants. Bright-coloured colonial houses mixed with run-down, though brightly painted Soviet tenement blocks.

Just replace the second-hand German cars with 1950's oldtimers and you would have Havana on the Black Sea.

LA Marathon

2008-03-22T15:05:00.003+01:00

Recently, another edition of the LA Marathon was held, finishing on Flower St. in downtown LA. The winner was, as always, a really skinny African dude. First shot is of the finish line, the second taken from some elevated walkway encircling a building. I like the two shots cause there's a lot to see in both. But also just because it shows a level of urbanization almost unheard of in Europe.

The finish

Free space blankets for every runner

(It Sucks Being a Smoker) in Ireland

2008-03-07T18:58:00.010+01:00

It really sucks being a smoker in Ireland. A pack of 20 ..eeh.. 19 is no less than 7,45 European Union Credits. But unlike what, for example, the Dutch government is trying to do, the Irish do allow capitalizing on the effects of the ban. Almost every bar, cafe or restaurant has some sort of semi-enclosed area (complete with heaters) where smoking is allowed, pushing the limit of the definition of "outside" in the law - whatever that may be.

The good part is of course that the ban doesn't really hit you until you get to a small pub. But it also sparks some curious advertising, like this one at the airport:

Kinda peculiar, hey? Especially considering that these ads don't actually encourage you to stop with smoking, ie nicotine addiction... I have tried nicotine gum on long-haul flights, and trust me, it doesn't work. If you just don't smoke you go through craving once and then enter some vegetative state. When using nicotine gum, you experience the nicotine withdrawal over and over again, which doesn't really do you any good, considering you're already crammed up in an aluminium tube at the mercy of the airline, in a center seat, with probably a big and/or fat person having the chair next to you (why does that always happen to me?). So don't do it.

Anyway, it's not all bad in Ireland - Dublin is actually a very nice city (largest population in the world wearing sweatpants and trainers on weekdays) with some stuff to see, and generally nice people (prepare to booze up). It sucks being a smoker there, but otherwise I like the place - hence the brackets.

The picture on the left was something written on a wall on Lower Rathmines Rd. It's probably a reference to a song I don't know.

Cali Tree Beauty: Part II

2008-02-20T18:32:00.002+01:00

This is the second tree - this one stands in the Sequoia National Park. The picture was taken close to sunset. This time I will just let the image do the talking...

Cali Tree Beauty: Part I

2008-02-20T13:47:00.002+01:00

I didn't want to keep this picture from anyone, as I personally think it's amazing. It is a very lucky shot, as the sea gull is exactly in between the two trees. The picture was taken on November 23rd, 2007 at the Venice Beach Boardwalk in Venice, CA.

The shadows are also pretty cool. On the far right, there's a second sea gull on the ground also making for a nice shadow effect.

I wish to thank the California sea gulls for their cooperation :-)

Minas Morgul

2008-02-14T09:48:00.005+01:00

This is the parliament building of Georgia, on Rustaveli Ave. in Tbilisi. It as built during the 50's, and clearly this is a result of Stalinst architecture that spread over the Soviet Union in the 30's.

At night it looks like a fortress, or some palace of evil from a movie. It's truly impressive. The building actually has a square courtyard in the centre, and as it is built up against a hill, it really seems to rise up from the low point (Rustaveli street level).

The building was constructed for the bigger part using forced labour from German POW's. It took them approximately 9 years to build this structure. Whoever survived the construction was allowed to go back to Germany.

The California Smokers Witch Hunt

2008-02-13T11:10:00.011+01:00

Most people will probably know California isn't the most smoker-friendly place in the US. Apart from smoking being banned in all public places including bars and restaurants, smoking is also officially prohibited within a 20-feet radius of any openable door or window.

The practical enforcement of the 20-feet law is a completely different story (20 feet usually turns out to be somewhere in the middle of a traffic lane) but the intentions are clear.

But who said "Volksgericht" is old-fashioned? During my stay in Santa Monica, I was getting a coffee at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on OPB and settled in at the outdoor seating area. Facing me was a blind wall (meaning I was compliant with the 20-feet rule) so I lit up.

I had barely taken a hit or a very Californian-looking guy came up to me from across the seating area, and busted out "you're not supposed to smoke here". No excuse me or any form of fake sugar-coated politeness that usually accompanies the general way in this place this time.

He was looking as if I was an old nazi found after 45 years in Argentina, or a tramp sitting on someone's front porch. He looked really nasty.

"You mean it's not allowed here, or I'm not supposed to?" I replied trying to look equally nasty. "You shouldn't smoke here" was his only reply. I felt like givinig this guy a smack. I most definately felt like making a point out of it.

But then I remembered the first rule of travelling: stay out of trouble in foreign places. I consider the US a "contingency 3 country"(the higher the number on a scale 1-6 the more you wanna stay out of trouble) so my ratio disciplined my anger and I put the thing out. Back in Holland I would've probably told the dude to go screw himself and then ignore him while finishing my smoke. Not here.

When leaving I gave him a dirty look. He grinned. Bastard.

This sign indicates the presence of a designated smoking area at Sea World (San Diego). I was very happy when I saw this sign, as it rendered my plans, of taking a strategic place behind a wall, or at the top of the seats surrounding the seals & sea otters show in order to have a smoke, obsolete. The arrow points to the top right. When I checked out the other side of the sign, the arrow pointed to the bottom left. Right. I figured this *was* the designated smoking area so I lit up. Undisturbed :-)

The irony is of course that so much time, effort and nastyness is put into fighting one of the great dangers of our time: smokers. They smell. They're nasty. They're evil. If you stand on Lincoln & Pico between 5 and 5:10 I guess you inhale as much shit as you'd get from an entire pack of cigarettes. And the fact that smokers die younger after paying a lifetime of extra taxes on tabacco is good news for healthcare - it allows them to focus on less nastier people (see picture).

The Dude in the Kitchen

2008-02-12T20:27:00.001+01:00

Back in May '07, I visited a friend of mine who moved from Holland to Georgia 5 months earlier. At the time he was living in a not-so-chique typical run-down Soviet style apartment on Tamarashvili, a busy street in Saburtalo (a district of Tbilisi). There were more needles than people on the street there. But as usual in the Georgian capital, it was a rather relaxed scene and the junkies didn't pop out until after nightfall.

In that crappy apartment, in a run-down and patched-up Georgian kitchen stood an Orsk. A What? An Orsk. An old Soviet brand of refrigerators. My friend told me when he first moved in, it creeped him out as the thing seemed to come alive at night. The thing in that kitchen must have been at least 30 years old. But it worked.

In fact, it did more than that. The thing seemed to be alive. It made noises, it moved around a bit and it experienced mood swings (especially after a power cut). Sitting outside on the balcony, you would hear some sort of grunting sound coming from the kitchen. Checking up the thing seemed to have moved a few centimetres.

Orsk was also an insomniac. In the middle of the night, he could make a little jump up in the air and shake. The shaking movement was felt throughout the apartment, transported by the Soviet-quality wooden floors.

In any case, the darn thing was quickly named "the dude in the kitchen".

Sloterdijk Blues

2008-02-12T13:26:00.000+01:00

It's a liveless place, with office buildings both empty and occupied, it's always windy there. No one stays. They just pass.

Sloterdijk is a part on the west edge of Amsterdam. It's where my office is. It's too clean to be logically considered a part of the Netherlands, let alone Amsterdam.

At night it becomes really quiet - the only thing you hear are the trains from the Sloterdijk station, a pretty large transfer hub that turns from a busy commuter station into an empty playground for all kinds of shady folk after 7pm. I never have problems though - I look like one of them, apart from the laptop case :-)

The mumbling in strange dialects is only rarely disturbed by the occasional over-caffeinated accountancy trainee rushing to the platform.

If the train on the viaduct tells me one thing, it must be "...gettin' my ass outta here..."

Czars & Soviets

2008-02-12T12:31:00.000+01:00

These pictures were taken in the city of Batumi, the seaside resort of the tiny Caucasian republic of Georgia. It's a cool place. As everywhere in Georgia, they like to put certain buildings in the spotlight, but never manage to do it exactly right. There's always something hasty and not well thought through about it. But, it does give you sweet effects after dark and in this case it shines light on two structures representing two opposites in history.

This is Batumi city hall. A Russian building. Fake-French, so to speak. It sits right on the boulevard, which is slow and lazy during the day and bustling with life (and booze) at night. The fountain also has lights in it - looking very classical there. If you would turn 90 degrees from where I was standing, you would see the ferris wheel, and some very bad-taste plastic and neon palm trees on a square that's just a little too large.

Not far from the city hall, is this odd-looking fellow. The parliament building of the autonomous republic of Achara. I really don't know what to think of this building. During the day it looks like a failed Soviet attempt at building a modern office building. At night it's freaky... like it has "Big Brother is watching you" written all over it. But I might miss the point completely. In any case, if you pass it after a night on the piss it makes for a good laugh.

Winter Wonder Land

2008-02-12T11:55:00.000+01:00

This is a view from my top window, in a southern direction towards the Nieuwe Kerk ("new church"). I really hate winter and everything that comes with it, but occasionally you can shoot some pretty nice pictures. The air seems thinner, the light is different and the coldness itself is captured in the image.

This is the south-western direction - yet again another church on the skyline. Or cathedral. A meteorologist might explain the funny light effects. I'll stick to pollution. But it still looks nice.

A close-up. The building has something spooky, a bit of a Mordor something to it. The leafless tree is also no witness to a lot of life there. But hey, it's a church. And it's Holland after all.

Hi there

2008-02-12T11:34:00.001+01:00

This is not about search marketing, bid management systems or SEO. Nor is it about local search trends, or the latest rant of some marketing guru. I mean, I love my work but there's more stuff to explore.

I am the proud owner of a crappy Nokia N73. It is a very bad phone with an exellent camera. That's why I got it.

We live in interesting times, a turning point in history, not least because of technology. I wonder if the Romans of 476 AD knew they lived on the edge of two eras. Probably not. So do we know it? Probably not.

But by carrying a Finnish piece of junk in my pocket I get to capture some stuff that I think is interesting, or arty, or nice. Or ugly. Or sometimes not because the image is aesthetically appealing but just 'cause it captures the "Zeitgeist" - the spirit of our time, or the one of a time past long ago.

And sometimes, if you're lucky, you might just capture a little piece of what's yet to come.

NB: all pictures on my blog are mine, unless stated otherwise. I am the copyright holder of these images, but I usually don't make a point out of re-use if you ask nicely :-)