 July 2K9 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sunday 26/07/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Everyone's Gay In Amsterdam! It's official, 'Everyone's Gay in Amsterdam', at least according to The Netherlands Board of Tourism&Conventions, but let me explain... 
This weekend Amsterdam is hosting the 'Gay Pride' again on its canals and mean streets that, if the stories from the gay people I know are anything to go by, will very likely be cum-crusted come Monday, mhuahaha ;-D 
It's a lucky coincidence that The Netherlands Board of Tourism&Conventions has started a new campaign called 'Everyone's Gay in Amsterdam', just in time to lure rich gay people to the best city in the world for the parade, because they're one of the last groups of tourists that 'still travel and have stable purchasing powers despite the recession' (their words, not mine!)...so, my dear visiting gay tourists, please make sure to pick up a couple of T-shirts and Stickers before you go back home next week, our Mayor is counting on you, hehe ;-)) 
The 'Gay Pride' parade visitors have to be a bit careful when and where they behave gay, even if 'Everyone's Gay in Amsterdam' as they say at the NBTC, it seems to be rather dangerous to kiss and hold hands in the best city in the world, at least when both persons involved are men...last week Hugo Braakhuis, the organizer of the 'Gay Pride' was beaten up by a group of Moroccan&Dutch guys after kissing his friend in public! So be careful and be safe, have a nice party :) 
This picture is dedicated to all the straight guys, to assist you with readjusting your visual apparatus after seeing thousands of sexy, (half)naked men dancing on boats at the 'Gay Pride' festivities this weekend in the best city in the world ;-) 
I took this shot while biking really fast&drunk last Friday, so it's not the best quality, but I'm trying to make a point here, hehe :-P Puddle Mania We are still experiencing a rainy Summer so I'm trying to make the most of a shitty situation and proudly present to you my latest wicked puddle reflection pictures, enjoy :) 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Saturday 18/07/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Free Shipping For 2 Days! Yes, you heard it right, until the 19th all purchases of at least 2 arcticles from the AmsterS@m Shop are free of shipping charges, yay :)) 
Go and get at least 2 articles, add the voucher code FREESHIPPING when you check out, and impress your friends&foes with a truly unique 'AmsterS@m' shirt, bag, coffee mug or even a wicked umbrella, you know you'll need one when you live in the best city in the world...or at least a shirt with one printed on it, lol :)) 
Thank God For The Rain ;-P I'm really lucky, we're 'blessed' with Fall'ish rain&storm in the last week and that always makes for good puddle pictures, once the sun peeks through the grayness, but see for yourself, as always no Photoshop, no tricks, mostly shot with a mobile and no editing done at all. Click on the pictures for bigger versions and more info on my Flickr stream, my RedBubble site and my Imagekind account. They're offering a 20% discount on custom framing at the moment, the Promo code is 'IKSummer09', it's valid until July 20th, get a real 'AmsterS@m' now :) 
Sugar On A Stick Sugar on a Stick is the latest project of the 'Sugar Labs'...who are they and why are they offering me free candy you ask? Well, here's what they want: "The mission of Sugar LabsŪ is to produce, distribute, and support the use of the Sugar learning platform; it is a support base and gathering place for the community of educators and developers to create, extend, and teach with the Sugar learning platform.". Sounds neat-o, don't you think?! 
Spezify Have you every wondered what specifically 'AmsterS@m' stands for?! Click here and find out what the Interwebs thinks is specifically and essentially 'AmsterS@m' :D 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sunday 12/07/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Wicked Puddle Madness The conditions for wicked puddle pictures have been near perfect in the last days, check this out! As always, no editing at all, no magic tricks, no Photoshop! You can find some of my latest creations on RedBubble and Imagekind...speaking of which, they're offering a 20% discount on custom framing at the moment, the Promo code is 'IKSummer09', it's valid until July 20th, hurry up :)) 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Saturday 04/07/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx AmsterS@m Does Saatchi Today I have created a new account on the 'Saatchi Online' art gallery site and now I'm busy uploading wicked reflection shots that will help me spread the name 'AmsterS@m' far beyond the borders of the best city in the world, yay :D 
Image 'borrowed' from http://saatsaatsaatchi.files.wordpress.com! In case you've never heard of the Saatchi Brothers, they're very interesting people that have a golden hand for discovering new funky Artists :) 
Image 'borrowed' from http://www.ppamarketing.net! Happy 4th Of July! Today our American friends are celebrating their 'Independance Day' :)) 
Image 'borrowed' from www.imigracjadousa.com! "In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States." 
Image 'borrowed' from Riegsecker.com! The Puddle Prophet 
Unedited mobile phone shot of a Poodle-hair Hippie walking by with fries in his hands, reflected in a puddle at the Rembrandtplein in Amsterdam. No Photoshop, no tricks. Luckily for me there's a cigarette butt floating in the puddle and some dry ground can be seen, otherwise I'd have problems recognizing this as a reflection shot, it looks so natural and real :)) 
The area around the Rembrandtplein is usually over saturated with tourists visiting the best city in the world and often they get stuck in the vicious cycle of visiting a coffeeshop, getting high and then trying to leave the area, but caused by the circle'ish structure of the square, never make it and spend their vacation wandering the always same streets, wondering why Amsterdam is so much tinier than their 'Rough Guide' has led them to believe, hahaha ;-D 
Have a wonderful weekend, we are experiencing another sunny beautiful day in Adam, it's already 30 degrees Celsius and it's only 9 in the morning :)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Friday 03/07/2009 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOTHOTHOT!!! For a week now it's been 30 degrees Celsius and slowly we're all melting away...luckily Amsterdam still looks really good while drastically dehydrated, hehe :-P 
Unedited mobile phone shot of the lovely Miss J from Haarlem (in Holland, not NY :), reflected in a puddle at the Rembrandtplein in Amsterdam. I was taking some wicked reflection shots (don't ask me where the water came from, it seemed to leak out of the side of a building :) when the lovely Miss J, who was watching me from the window of a Bar with her friend, came to find out why I was hunching over the puddle. I showed her the pics I had taken already and then shot her lovely puddle smile too :) 
Unedited mobile phone shot of a beautiful girl+bike and the Amstel Hotel, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No Photoshop, no magic tricks. I get a lot of questions lately where I find my puddles, since it's very hot (luckily :) on most days in the last weeks...and the answer is very simple, there are beer puddles, cleaning water puddles, 'preventing-bridges-from-overheating-waterspraying-installation' puddles (like the one in this shot!) and the occasional undefinable 'Mystery' puddle that I usually make a big detour around, I'm not willing to bath my hands in unknown substances for just another pretty picture, in this sinful city nothing good can come out of such a mindless act, hehe :) 
I don't depend on rain anymore to assist me with creating my wicked reflections, I've moved on from the simple 'at the mercy of the rain gods' model, towards a multi-liquid approach, that will help me to guarantee a steady stream of puddle pictures for your viewing pleasure :) Thank God it's Friday and I'm off today :D Columbian Soccer Hairstyle 
Me, Mobie and my newest T-shirt, reflected on the side window of a car in Amsterdam. Undedited. I love my new T-shirt, I got it in this cool new'ish shop called 'addiction' at the Haarlemmerdijk 96 in the best city in the world. I biked by the shop and when I saw this baby, I had to get it, it still makes me smile every time I look at it :)) 
The guy who runs the shop is really nice and we had a great chat, I told him about my site&photos and my own AmsterS@m Shop. This Dude has so many cool and wicked shirts in his shop that I had a hard time not wasting all my $$$ on those fabulous items. When I left, I saw a nice puddle just opposite of the shop, so I took a wicked reflection shot and showed it to the guy, he loved it and gave me another 5 T-shirts for free...no he didn't, but he should have, haha ;-D Talk To The Hand! 
Mobile phone shot of tour posters of 'The Game', in front of some windows reflecting other buildings, in Amsterdam of course. The Game is one of my favorite Rappers, his personal story is very interesting and he's a talented man that made his way into the Rap Biz the classical way, he was a Drug dealer, he got shot several times, loves his Mamma and he is from LA , hahaha. He's going to play in the 'Paradiso' on the 23rd of July! The Boy Who Sees Without Eyes! This is a documentary about a boy (Ben Underwood) who has taught himself to use echo location to navigate around the world. Ben Underwood is blind, but has managed to do some truly extraordinary feats. Crime Time I've mentioned it already last month, if you stand up while drinking a beverage on a terrace in Amsterdam, you are a Criminal! Here are the opinions of some major Dutch news sources to back up my point of view, I wouldn't want you to think I'm just a grumpy guy who's got issues accepting authoritah, hehe ;-)) 
The 'Telegraaf' thinks that Amsterdam is caught up in an absurd Soap-opera surrounding the magnitude of silly rules regulating life&pleasure in the best city in the world (here's an English translation of the article). The wicked cool website 'GeenStijl' even fears that the Netherlands are in the hands of a bunch of religious Nutjobs that want to exterminate all forms of fun and impose a Nazi-state like construct on this little country that could, including 'GemeenteGestapo' and all that (English translation here!)...strong words from people that know! It seems that now the good folks of city hall can enter your house at any time for a 'Check-up on your living conditions', without your permission...wow! 
Aufmachen! Waffen SS! Welkom in 1942... Image 'borrowed' from GeenStijl!
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