 August 2K9 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sunday 30/08/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Miss Monyart - The Website Finally the official website of the lovely and talented Miss Monyart is online, you can now visit her at www.monyart.com, yay. And don't forget to check out her Flickr stream :) 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sunday 30/08/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Waterland There have been some wicked rainstorms in the last days/nights and I intend to go downtown in a minute to harvest some new pictures, but not before I bore you with the shots from the previous days, hehe :-)) 
Ice-Iceland Baby! The poor fellas up there in Iceland feel mistreated by the world at large and the Dutch in particular, for accusing them of making their savings-money disappear, you might remember the fuzz around 'Icesave' and all that...here's what they Viking-boys have to say to you, LOL ;-D ISpy I found this funky little widget called 'who's.amung.us', it show's you who's visiting your site at the moment and where the visitor is located, neat&nifty, just the way I like it...and of course it's free, the way the Internet should be :)) 
Image 'borrowed' from http://whos.amung.us/! 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Thursday 27/08/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Save AmsterS@m! Luckily the dickweasel who tried to have my Flickr account deleted has not succeeded, my photostream has been declared 'Safe' again by the powers in charge, yay :D 
To further agonize the unknown Bitch-bastard who did this to me, I've posted some extra wicked reflections in the last days (as usual, shot with a C905 mobile phone, no editing, no Photoshop), including a new self-portrait from today...check out my sun-tan, hahaha :D 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sunday 23/08/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Dirrrrty AmsterS@m! Some narrow minded person has reported my account to Flickr as 'unsafe' and they have followed up on this anonymous tip by putting my pictures on a 'moderate' level, warning me that if they'll receive another report, they will terminate my Flickr stream. 
My photos are not visible to anybody anymore, unless they're signed into Flickr and have set their own account to be able to view moderate content, that means I can not show my pictures to anybody outside that small group anymore, this is so sad and unnecessary. It seems rather unfair that some puritan soul, that feels offended by my puddle reflections or my occasional girl-shot, can just pop a message to the Flickr staff and make me look like a dirty old man, but it seems that there is not much I can do about this, I've sent Flickr a mail but didn't get a response yet :((( 
I am not sure what is going to happen now, but all my pictures have already been blocked by default for anybody not signed in to Flickr and set up to view unsafe things, I guess it won't be long before Flickr decides that I am a menace to the rest of the world at large and will kick me out...it's been 3 really fun, exciting years where I've met tons of cool people, made some real life friends and had a very wicked time interacting with all of the good folks, I will surely miss this a lot, it's been a fun ride...all that's left to say to those lucky enough to keep their accounts is "So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish!", have a good time with the anonymous nay-sayers who'll spoil it for everybody else, keep your head low and your 'nasty' pictures away from the poor kids&feeble-minded grown ups, hehe ;-) 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Saturday 22/08/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Bang Bang Tomahawk Big Kurl himself and his wickedwild Posse, Bang Bang Tomahawk a.k.a. Bang Tomahawk Bang a.k.a. Tomahawk Bang Bang, hanging out in the wonderful, dog(shit)-free zone of the Sarphatipark in, of course, Amsterdam. Big up to the boys, they are one of the hottest things in town at the moment, they're the new kids on the block that will break up, shake up and rearrange the Nightlife in the best city in the world with their crazyass Parties and their brand new&slammin' style that will burn your brain and clog your ears for years to come, Amsterdam watch out, haha :D 
On top of that they are really cool dudes (they even got a Monkey stalking them!) and we go way back on a daily basis! Keep your eyes peeled for flyers, stickers or tattoos that will soon announce their wicked activities in this lovely city, you don't want to have to explain to your grandchildren that you missed the beginning of a new era ;-P 
Puddlemania I am not saying I am some kind of superhero, but I managed to find some puddles while it's been near 30 degrees for days, I'm proud of myself, hehe. As usual, shot with a C905 mobile phone, no editing, no magic tricks, no Photoshop! 
Exposing the 'Cover-Up' If I've ever seen a good cause that needs all our support, it's the GoTopless initiative! What do they want? "Welcome to GoTopless.org! - We are a US organization, claiming that women have the same constitutional right to be bare chested in public places as men"...wicked ;-P 
Image 'borrowed' from http://www.gotopless.org! The Secret Amsterdam You might now know this, but if you take the free ferry boat behind Central Station to the North of Amsterdam, you'll find a whole different world that is pretty much unknown to the causal visitor of the best city in the world and even to lots of locals...to change that, a young man went and build a website about his 'hidden' part of Sin City, check it out here! 
Image 'borrowed' from http://www.amsterdamnoord.heeftveeltebieden.nl/! Screenwork I'd like to introduce you to one of my Flickr contacts, the funny cool Screenpunk and his website Screenwork.nl...why you ask? Why not, the sun is shining and I feel like sharing, hehe :) 
Image 'borrowed' from http://www.flickr.com/photos/screenpunk/! Take Me To Your Leader The UK government has released a new batch of 'UFO Files', a must read for any decent, selfrespecting Tinfoil Hat owner! 
Image 'borrowed' from http://riverdaughter.files.wordpress.com! Oh No, Obama Is Hitler! At least according to this website, that claims that 'Obama Is Literally Hitler'...I have to say, it made me laught, I hope that doesn't mean that I am a bad person, but making a statement like 'YOU KNOW WHO ELSE WORE GLASSES? HITLER!' to make 
Image 'borrowed' from http://obamaisliterallyhitler.tumblr.com/!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sunday 16/08/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx No Rain? No Problem! A lot of people on Flickr ask me how I do my wicked reflections when there is no rain, and I keep saying 'I don't need rain, there is always a puddle somewhere in Amsterdam' and here's the final proof, my wicked reflections of the last week or so, enjoy :)) 
Summer Sale Continues! Hurry, the 15% discount (Voucher code 'SUMMER2009') on any purchase above 35 euros in the AmsterS@m Shop is still good until the 23rd of August...and there are tons of new shirts, check it out! 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Monday 10/08/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The Cheapskate Me, Myself&Mobie, reflected on the side window of a car. I've thrown some contrast&saturation at this picture to make my new Shirt come out better, no further editing. As you can see, I am wearing one of the new cool shirts that have popped up in the AmsterS@m Shop lately, and I have to say, they're not just very comfortable and cool, they're also cheap, which, in Holland, is a very important point when purchasing goods :) 
The nice folks of Spreadshirt, the company that is doing the whole technical&financial Voodoo stuff that keeps the shop online and the shirts coming your way, are offering a 15% discount on any order above 35 euros in the AmsterS@m Shop until the 23rd of August (Voucher code 'SUMMER2009'), so go and get some before the goodness stops, you know you want to :-P 
Anarchy In Amsterdam! It seems that our Mayor is not the only one who thinks that the best city in the world needs a good cleaning&scrubbing, listen to good old Another nice one :) And here's the only possible sane response to such evil, rotten Right-wing Nutcases :))
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sunday 09/08/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Cup-A-Soup Time! Mobile phone cam shot of the Munt tower in Amsterdam, reflected in a puddle. I've added some saturation&contrast, no other editing, no visual tricks, no Photoshop :) 
I really like the Munt tower, it looks cool and old school...and there are usually puddles somewhere around it, even in dry periods like the current one :) 
Here's some historic background on the tower: "The Munttoren ("Mint Tower") or Munt is a tower in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. It stands on the busy Muntplein square, near the flower market and the start of the Kalverstraat shopping street, where the Amstel river and the Singel canal meet. The tower was originally part of the Regulierspoort, one of the main gates in Amsterdam's medieval city wall. The gate, built in the years 1480-1487, consisted of two towers and a guard house. After the gate went up in flames in a 1618 fire, only the guard house and part of the western tower remained standing. The tower was then rebuilt in Amsterdam Renaissance style in 1619-1620, with an eight-sided top half and elegant open spire designed by Hendrick de Keyser, featuring a clockwork with four clockfaces and a carillon of bells" 
The title of this shot is inspired by the hilarious Cup-a-soup commercials that try to make everybody in Holland have a delicious soup at 4 o clock every afternoon :-P Ai! Amsterdam There is a whole bunch of Amsterdam people now that has had it with the crazy rules of our insane City Council and they have started the 'ai! amsterdam' campaign that aims at getting rid of obviously inappropriate, ridiculous rules that are in place to make us feel like children, and not like citizens of the once freest place on the planet... 
Go, download the Flyer and stick it to your window, your bike or your forehead, but make sure to stick it to the man, the first idiotic rule has already been dropped after a large scale protest :D Bad Times For Planes And another plane crash...it seems that 2009 is a good year to stay on the ground! The Future Is Now! Finally, we're seeing one of the age old promises about our High-tech future come true, you can now purchase your very own Satellite and shoot it up into Space, yay :D 
Image 'borrowed' from http://interorbital.com! Total Price of the TubeSat Kit including a Launch to Orbit is $8,000! Need more info?! 
Image 'borrowed' from http://interorbital.com! "A TubeSat is designed to function as a Basic Satellite Bus or as a simple stand-alone satellite. Each TubeSat kit includes the satellite's structural components, safety hardware, solar panels, batteries, power management hardware and software, transceiver, antennas, microcomputer, and the required programming tools. With these components alone, the builder can construct a satellite that puts out enough power to be picked up on the ground by a hand-held HAM radio receiver. Simple applications include broadcasting a repeating message from orbit or programming the satellite to function as a private orbital HAM radio relay station. These are just two examples. The TubeSat also allows the builder to add his or her own experiment or function to the basic TubeSat kit. Examples of add-on experiments or functions include the following: *Satellite orientation detection (horizon sensor, gyros, accelerometers, etc.) *Orbital environment measurements (temperature, pressure, radiation, etc.) *On-orbit hardware and software component testing (microprocessors, etc.) *Tracking migratory animals from orbit *Testing satellite stabilization methods *Earth-from-space video imaging *Earth magnetic field measurement *Biological experiments *On-orbit advertising *Private e-mail *Space burials *Space art"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Saturday 08/08/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Jurassic Park We've finally had a perfect Summer day in the best city in the world and we made the best use of it by hanging out in the Vondelpark with drinks, smokes&music, it was so nice...and I found some water too :)) 
I AmsterS@m Mobile phone cam shot of the Rijksmuseum and the world famous letters 'I amsterdam' in front of it, reflected in the little pond outside the museum. I've added a bit of contrast and saturation, but no other editing, no tricks, no Photoshop. 
I really like those letters and one of the reasons is the major international scandal that one of my photos caused in April this year when the good folks of the 'I amsterdam' campaign (the good folks who put those letters there) used it to promote the best city in the world, what a laugh that was :))) 
As you can see the Rijksmuseum is still being renovated, for what seems years and years already, but you get used to having large areas of Amsterdam revamped and rebuild constantly, the city center is a giant construction site since the late 90s and it doesn't look like this is about to change anytime soon...at least we can see our tax money at work :)) Summer Sale - 15% Discount! Don't forget about the 15% discount on any purchase above 35 euros in the AmsterS@m Shop, the offer is valid until August 23rd :-)) 
Watching The Retards Just watch and enjoy :D
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Thursday 06/08/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Summertime :)) Despite the positive minded title of this post, the Summer in the best city in the world still kinda sucks, but today seems to be a lovely sunny day and lucky me, my weekend has started already, yay! Puddlewise it's a perfect Summer so far :D 
Feelin' Irie I'm listening to the Live album of Matisyahu again at the moment and I can't stop loving this Irie dude, he's so good at his thing, check him out :) Are you more into classic Roots Rock Reggea?! Here's a nice one from Da Man, enjoy :) Summer Sale - 15% Discount! Since the weather isn't as it should be, at least you can now get a 15% discount on any purchase above 35 euros, go and get yourself a funkycool 'AmsterS@m' shirt and bag to show off when you're chilling in the park with your friends!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sunday 02/08/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx It's Raining (Men)! It's the weekend of the 'Gay Pride' parade and 'Everyone's Gay in Amsterdam'! 
Image 'borrowed' from http://www.amsterdamtrips.com! It's Raining (Water)! I'm very glad to report that August is starting with some proper rain showers, lots of puddles everywhere and of course I managed to snap some wicked reflections, yay :)) 
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