Amat victoria curam!

Robin Gibb and his titanic

2012-01-25T18:00:00.000+01:00

Robin Gibb has composed a "classical" requiem about the titanic disaster. The premiere will be on April 15 this year (it'll have been 100 years since the Titanic sank) You can listen to one of the numbers (Christmas Day) here and hear that composing classical music is something else then a nice pop song (as Paul McCartney already knows...) I wonder whether Eros Ramazzotti will now compose "The Costa Symphony..."

Oscar predictions 2012

2012-01-24T15:11:00.002+01:00

It is that time of the year again: The Oscars! This is my favorite list of the winners of this years nominees:

Best Picture: Midnight in Paris
Screenplay: Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen
Adapted screenplay: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Director: Terrence Malick - Tree of Life
Actor: Gary Oldman -Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Actress: Meryl Streep - Iron Lady
Supporting actor: Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Supporting actress: Jessica Chastain - Tree of Life

We"ll see in a month who will go home with the statues...

Thanks Rudi :-)

2012-01-20T10:59:00.002+01:00

Rudi van Danzig died today. Choreograph, dancer, writer. I feel very lucky to have seen his mayor pieces like "Vier letzte Lieder" and "Monument voor een gestorven jongen" with his favorite dancers
Clint Farha and Reinbert Martijn. He really put Holland on the ballet map in the last century and hopefully his ballets will continue to be performed.

Hmmm...

2012-01-19T15:19:00.000+01:00

Nova Zembla revisited

2012-01-18T10:30:00.000+01:00

Well somehow I have to thank the creators of the film Nova Zembla - which is probably the worst film ever made this century - it made me read the story of "Het behouden huis" (The safe house) of the incredible journey of Captain Barentz and his crew again. It still is amazing...

Morse is alive!

2012-01-14T10:32:00.000+01:00

Well not really but Endeavour Morse is back as a prequel in a great pilot of a TV series that has to be made by ITV...

Thanks Apple! - my new iPod Nano

2012-01-13T16:14:00.000+01:00

There were some battery issues with the iPod Nano 1st generation and Apple issued a exchange program. Way back in a drawer I found my old, never used again, 1Gb Nano and sent it to Apple. In return I got this brand new 6th gen 8Gb Nano: great! :-))

New movies as old film posters

2012-01-12T17:09:00.000+01:00

What if the movies of today were announced in the old fashioned way? more here

Hurry!

2012-01-11T10:24:00.000+01:00

Iron Meryl

2012-01-10T11:06:00.000+01:00

There is no doubt: Meryl Streep done it again - she IS Margret Thatcher. The Iron Lady as a movie is a little disappointing - to much focus on MT as a demented old woman wandering around in her apartment with occasional flash backs. Every time things are getting interesting we move back to MT in her bedroom... a pity.

My news picture of 2011

2012-01-09T10:22:00.000+01:00

Mauro

Hmmm...

2012-01-08T11:15:00.000+01:00

The day I made my own granola

2012-01-07T16:11:00.000+01:00

While in the states I started my day not with pancakes, waffles or eggs with bacon but with Yogurt with (homemade) granola. When I was discussing this with Karen see gave me her secret recipe - which I now used to make my own :-)
This is what's in it: Oats, Cornflakes, Barley, Wheat, Almond, Hazelnut, Brazil nut, Walnut, Cranberry, Pistachio, Hazelnut Oil, Vanilla, Brown sugar, Honey.
It tastes awesome!

Awesome new domain name suggestion tool

2012-01-06T11:10:00.000+01:00

This really saved me hours of frustration and came up with awesome new ideas and angles!

Historical Marker

2012-01-05T13:28:00.000+01:00

From Norm Magnusson's 'I-75 project', a series of 'historical' markers.... :-)

Holmes & Watson - just good friends?

2012-01-04T19:57:00.002+01:00

The nature of the relationship between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s duo has long been a subject of intense speculation, and the latest (awesome!) BBC adaptation — starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman — has again started the rumors...

Are Sherlock and John "just friends or are they more... The author himself raised eyebrows in the 1893 short story The Adventure of the Yellow Face, when he referred to the duo as two men “who know each other intimately”
The other Sherlock - Downey Jr - has described them as “two men who happen to be room-mates, wrestle a lot and share a bed”.
So let's see what is the final truth.

Nyår goda avsikter två: läsa mer på svensk

2012-01-03T16:36:00.000+01:00

Jag har läst den första två delar från Knutas Serier av Mari Jungstedt på svensk och det gick skit bra!
Det är deckare som spelar på Gotland med kommissarie Anders Knutas
Så varför inte att läsa den andra delar?... Jag ska börja nu!

My new year resolution: run (even) more

2012-01-02T16:19:00.000+01:00

I think I could run a marathon with him... :-)

My favorite person of the year...

2012-01-01T13:08:00.000+01:00

The day I started my own Grill & Bar in Dallas

2011-12-31T23:23:00.002+01:00

A sunny day in Dallas

2011-12-30T17:20:00.002+01:00

The fountain building

The first Nieman & Marcus - little disappointing...

Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition at DMA

2011-12-29T17:16:00.000+01:00

A sweet retrospective of the work of JPG in the Dallas Museum of Art with a nice trick: they projecting faces on the dolls - so it seems that they are really there. 3D done simple and with great effect. The clothes were outrageous and completely unwearable as usual - even the pret-a-porter collection stuff.

"Our Jaap" in Dallas

2011-12-29T17:12:00.000+01:00

Dallas and the Sixth Floor

2011-12-29T17:11:00.000+01:00

We all know that JFK was murdered on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas. But is still pretty impressive to see the actual spot where he was killed and the warehouse where Lee Oswald shot his gun. It's now a museum where you can relive the whole day from minute to minute.

Mission Impossible IV

2011-12-28T17:23:00.000+01:00

Tom Cruise is awesome as Ethan Hunt in MI IV. The scene at the El Burj is goosebumps giving - nice car too...

French Quarter revisited

2011-12-28T17:05:00.000+01:00

Bourbon street is really awful = especially during the evening/night. But when strolling with a bleak sunny sky the French Quarter gives a whole different look and feel. It's actually pretty nice.

WWII National Museum

2011-12-27T17:23:00.005+01:00

NOLA has been carefully rebuild after Katrina and the city seems to come back to live again since the last time I visited it - just after the storm. A brand new very nice WWII museum tells the story of this war and the role of the Americans in saving the world.

Number 3000!

2011-12-27T16:06:00.000+01:00

This is post number 3000 on Blogger - since my first blogpost back in 2003 :-)

The end of the river and our road (river) trip

2011-12-26T17:21:00.000+01:00

After 2200 miles and 10 states (Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana) we arrived and the end of the mighty river - the Mississippi.
It was a fun road trip with lot's of history and nature along the way. The people were very friendly and the food delicious. Thanks to tripadvisor we found great places to stay.
It was a awesome trip.

Plantations in Louisiana

2011-12-25T17:22:00.000+01:00

Tom and Mason fooling around

Tom, Karen and Meg have enough of our guide...

There are many plantations still conserved in Louisiana. Some original Cotton some Sugarcane.
After we met our Mulvany friends in Baton Rouge we did a short excursion of our way down to New Orleans to a couple of the grandest houses: Nottaway and Oakally. Not a lot was said by the guides about the slaves on who's costs these houses and farms were build and run...

Lunch time

2011-12-25T17:12:00.000+01:00

trying to find something to eat in Natches - without any luck...

Vicksburg - The Battle for the Mississippi River

2011-12-24T17:07:00.000+01:00

One of the biggest battles between the Union and the Confederates was in Vicksburg. The Union wanted to control the Mississippi and so split the Confederates. After a long, long battle Grant succeed in Vicksburg (Gibraltar of the Mississippi) and the battlefield is now a national park. Very interesting was to see the Ironclad Cairo war ship with which the Union controlled the river.

Bill & Hill in Little Rock

2011-12-23T00:15:00.003+01:00

We visited Little Rock, Arkansas to have a look at the Clinton Presidential Center which is a huge building along the Arkansas river. It gives a nice overview over the 8 years Clinton was president with a library where you can look a minute to minute itineraries of his days in the White House. (May 26 1998 10:00 -10:01 courtesy call to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands...)
Bill himself is your (audio) guide and yes - he mentions Monica... :-)

Chicken pot

2011-12-23T00:11:00.003+01:00

At the Ashley Restaurant in the Capitol Hotel, Little Rock AR.

Last minute X-mas present wish

2011-12-23T00:06:00.000+01:00

The 2012 Camaro, 6.2L 426-hp V8 engine only €20.000 :-) That's as much as a FIAT 500 1.2L 85-hp V2 engine on auto.nl...

the place where the world found its SOUL

2011-12-22T00:10:00.000+01:00

SUN record studio - where Elvis cut his first single

STAX - now a great museum about soul music

Graceland

2011-12-21T00:51:00.000+01:00

Studebaker Blackhawk

Graceland is a place in Memphis you cannot miss to see. In the winter time it is actually fun as well - because it is quiet and the house it self is decorated. The mansion itself is bigger then I thought with all kinds of quirky rooms in 1970's decoration. It has also all his golden and platinum records - which are a lot because this guy sold over 1 billion records... He is still one of the best selling artists around by the way. I am not a big fan of Elvis and his music, but it was impressive to see his TV debut, his (31!) feature films, his Las Vegas concerts, his outrageous costumes, his automobile collection and his private jets. Yes - at Graceland you can see it ALL...
And after every exibithion they have a special gift shop - so Eddie and I counted at least 20 of those!

Walking in Memphis

2011-12-20T00:48:00.004+01:00

We were Walking in Memphis and saw a lot of interesting things. This is the hometown of Sun and Stax records. Where Elvis, Isaac Hayes, BB king and many many others recorded their first records. This is also is the place where Dr. Martin Luther King was killed back in 1968. The motel where that happened is now the excellent and moving National Civil Rights Museum. You can actually see the spot where he was killed and across the street the window where James Earl Ray shot him.
We also did a tour in the Gibson guitar factory where they make the (semi) hollow models. It was great to see how many care and passion it takes to make one guitar. You want to buy one if you see it, only to be placed back on earth when a boy of 8 years old shows how it is really done with easy and a smile...

Superman

2011-12-19T00:47:00.000+01:00

In his "Home town" Metropolis, Ill.

Lots of beautiful skies

On the Mississippi - at last!

2011-12-17T15:37:00.000+01:00

Popeye the sailor in his hometown Chester (on the Mississippi)

Not a lot ferry's are working during the winter time - but this one was, so we hopped on.

Meet me in St. Louis

2011-12-16T15:37:00.000+01:00

One of the things on my bucket list was to see the masterwork of Eero Saarinen: The Gateway Arch in St. Louis. It was much much better then I had hoped for. It is truly monumental. All the best icons in the world are a "simple" shape - be it a obelisk, pyramid or even the Eiffel Tower. No wonder Saarinen choose to use a simple shape as well - but added some genius touches. The height is exactly the width and the structure is twisted and clad with stainless steel. That makes that the Arch is always different - no matter what the weather is like or what angle you look at it. The ride to the top in a "bubble" tram is an adventure on its own. The the view breathtaking.

Roadtrip part II

2011-12-16T15:31:00.000+01:00

Mark Twains' town - Hannibal on the Mississippi

2011-12-16T15:30:00.000+01:00

It was really fun to wander around in Mark Twain (Sam Clemens) old home town. The houses where he, Huck and Becky lived in are all there and you can really feel the atmosphere of his famous (autobiographical) books coming alive. I reread The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn while being in Hannibal and was actually surprised how good and funny this book actually is. I vaguely remember old movies about Sam and Huck and when home I have to try to find those too.

Lemme see him, Huck. My, he's pretty stiff.... ;-)

2011-12-15T23:29:00.000+01:00

Norman Rockwell - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer...

Michel Bras in St. Louis

2011-12-15T15:38:00.000+01:00

We had dinner at restaurant Niche where chef Gerard Craft created a very interesting tasting menu for us with a mashed potatoes dish that seem to come right out of Michel Bras' Kitchen way back in Lagiuole. And sure when I asked Gerard about it - it was this what he intended to make :-) - and he succeeded. According to Eddie it was even better because of the consistency....

Other treasures at the Mississippi

2011-12-14T22:58:00.002+01:00

Real Dutch windmill at the border of the Mississippi at Fulton

Inside the Wells Fargo Bank in Davenport

The first Mormon "Temple" in Nauvoo - we were not allowed in...

John Woods; Mansion in Quincy

Galena - US Grant hometown

2011-12-14T22:55:00.001+01:00

US Grant was the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877) and lived in Galena, a town that became wealthy because of the (lead rush mid 19th century) It was at its time the biggest city of Illinois and still has a nice authentic look and feel.

And down south we go...

2011-12-13T00:39:00.003+01:00

Lot's of bald Eagles along the river - hunting for fish - awesome view!

Pikes Peak

Me and Mark Twain discussing literature

Stcckholm och Amsterdam ligger bara 10 mil från varandra

2011-12-12T00:14:00.001+01:00

66 invånare?

Some stuff along the river

2011-12-12T00:09:00.001+01:00

White Eagle eating a rat at the American Eagle Center

Along the River Mississppi

2011-12-12T00:05:00.001+01:00

The Apple - Microsoft Store battle

2011-12-10T15:53:00.000+01:00

OK logo

Left Apple - Right MS

Where are the customers? - those tables look familiair

Packed the whole day long...

Funny - the Microsoft store Store looks like a copy of the Apple stores - without the buyers that is and the materials are crappy...

This doesn't look good for Obama in a election year...

2011-12-10T15:52:00.000+01:00

The Mall Of America

2011-12-10T15:49:00.000+01:00

The claim to be the biggest mall in the world. With an indoor theme park and more then 500 stores it is easy to believe - this is HUGE. (As is the transformer on top of the Lego store, completely build of lego)

Holidazzle

2011-12-10T15:09:00.001+01:00

Every season the colorfull parade will pass by on Nicolett Mall in Minneapolis: the Holidazzle. Young and old are wating in the sky walk (outside is to cold with temperatures of about 5F and a chill factor of even lower temperatures) to get a glimpse of the dozens or so fluorescent cars and people coming by.

The Swedish American Institute

2011-12-09T15:01:00.000+01:00

Här i Minnesota bor många amerikaner från Svenska ursprung. Det finns svenska byn (St. Olaf!) och människor ser skandinavisk ut. Så där det är logiskt om det Sedish American Institute är här också.
Tyvärr ingen person talade Svensk... :-)

At the Minneapolis Institute of Art

2011-12-09T14:57:00.000+01:00

If you ever want to study the History of Art you must come to the MIA. Here they have a perfect example of all the great art in the world. And if I say ALL, I mean ALL. Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Mondriaan, Picasso, Rodin, Greek, roman, Japanese you name it: they have it. And most of the time a very best piece as well.
It was really fun to wonder around and to rediscover some historical perspective. The MIA is huge so even I needed an hour or two to see it all :-)

At the Walker art center

2011-12-09T14:52:00.000+01:00

The walker art center is well known for its innovative presentations. It has a groovy building and in it is an adventure to discover art in at it forms - print, sculpture, video, fashion you name it. This is how a modern museum should be - it also has an excellent restaurant with a great view on the Minneapolis skyline.

The twin cities discovered

2011-12-09T14:45:00.000+01:00

St. Paul Cathedral

Minneapolis

The weather is great - very cold (10F) but sunny. Minneapolis and St. Paul have a rich cultural life and a couple a great art museums which we want to visit.

2552 miles to go...

2011-12-09T14:42:00.000+01:00

The Great River Road Trip 2011

2011-12-08T17:44:00.000+01:00

We are on our way to Minneapolis to start our Mississippi Trip. 10 states in 20 days, freezing cold - but should be fun :-)

We arrived after a pleasant journey

2011-12-08T15:31:00.000+01:00

Everything went smooth as a baby and we are set in our Hotel (The Marquette - what's in a name...) Our car for the coming three weeks is a JEEP Liberty (and again... what's in a name? ;-) )

Wanted? A violent gang?

2011-12-06T12:47:00.001+01:00

Nope: this are members of the new Belgium Government. The Belges had to wait almost two years - but now they must be very happy with these guys...

Pleae let me help you vote...

2011-12-05T12:50:00.000+01:00

And this is the way Putin won again the Russian Elections...

Fanny, Alexander och Jag

2011-12-04T18:48:00.000+01:00

Min Julpresent var filmen Fanny och Alexander av Ingrid Bergman. Det är en ny 5 delar version - Filmen hade nypremiär i en 312 minuter lång version 17 december 1983 och är den dyraste spelfilm som har spelats in i Sverige.
Filmen utspelar sig i Uppsala under åren 1907–1909 och kretsar kring den förmögna familjen Ekdahl som domineras av en rik och begåvad änka samt hennes tre söner. Filmen nominerades för sex Oscar 1983 och vann fyra... Jag är jätte nyfiken.

Skateboarding in a Church?

2011-12-03T12:51:00.000+01:00

You can do it @St Josef Church in Arnhem - looks cool!

The day I moved to Hungary...

2011-12-02T14:03:00.000+01:00

4. The Netherlands (15.87)... not so bad after all
© Alphadesigner

shiny teeth

2011-12-01T15:27:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Vanessa :-)

Me and my Phone part III

2011-11-30T17:43:00.000+01:00

Muppets on iPad

2011-11-29T14:16:00.000+01:00

A funny new app of the muppets where you can create your own muppet and make greeting cards. How do you like Snaggy?

Rodeo Killar

2011-11-28T15:27:00.000+01:00

First Boralis Run! - a huge succes!

2011-11-27T13:38:00.001+01:00

The first edition of the Boralis Run! was held today. Running in the Center of Amsterdam with OK weather. Curious to see how many people will run next year - this is the start of a new tradition... ;-)

Naked for a Cause...

2011-11-26T19:13:00.000+01:00

My favorite piece from the Elisabeth Taylor auction

2011-11-25T19:49:00.000+01:00

A very nice poster from Alphonse Mucha on sale December 16, New York.

It's Kindle Fire time

2011-11-24T13:37:00.001+01:00

Just arrived! First impression - heavy!

Hmmm...

2011-11-23T18:58:00.000+01:00

Lego Reuleaux triangles

2011-11-22T19:02:00.000+01:00

Never knew you could make a real Reuleaux triangles with Lego...

Me and my Phone part II

2011-11-21T17:42:00.000+01:00

Knit your X-mas Tree balls!

2011-11-20T14:38:00.000+01:00

Norwegian knitwear design stars Arne & Carlos are the authors of 55 Christmas Balls to Knit... Here a nice movie of were they live in Norway.

Cute & funny

2011-11-19T14:31:00.000+01:00

Arab spring...

2011-11-18T14:30:00.000+01:00

problems with the cloud...

2011-11-17T14:30:00.000+01:00

two pair of eyes...

2011-11-16T14:29:00.000+01:00

Nya böcker

2011-11-16T09:24:00.001+01:00

Via Bokus fick jag några nya Svenska böcker: några deckare och några "chick lit" Jag hoppas jag kan läsa den här (för säkerhet har jag nerladdat ljudböcker också)

Who doesn't want a brand new free Nano ipod?

2011-11-15T17:09:00.000+01:00

Somewhere way down at the back of a cupboard I found my first iPod Nano. I haven't used it for years but now Apple want's to give me a new one in exchange... (Apple has determined that, in very rare cases, the battery in the iPod nano (1st generation) may overheat and pose a safety risk. Affected iPod nanos were sold between September 2005 and December 2006.) It is not clear what Nano they will return. I cannot imagine that they have 1st generations left, so I am hoping for the latstest one! :-)

Last day in Paris....

2011-11-14T11:27:00.000+01:00

Couldn't resist

At Pere Lachaise cemetery

Some nice photographs I found

2011-11-14T11:25:00.000+01:00

A very sunny day in Paris

2011-11-13T11:24:00.000+01:00

Photo Fever Venue

Dianne Arbus at Jeu de Paume

Bubbly Obelix

Back in Tome

Paris Metro uses Windows I guess...

Paris Photo and some pictures of myself

2011-11-12T11:23:00.000+01:00

Steve McQueen

arty Paris street

Paris Photo in Le Grand Palais

X-mas at Lafayette

Somewhere on a wall - Paris is still the Capital of Love

Paris revisited

2011-11-11T11:22:00.000+01:00

I am in Paris for Paris Photo and Paris itself of course. The weather forecast looks terrific so let's hope for some wonderful days...

A Lego X-mas tree this year?

2011-11-10T14:09:00.001+01:00

Chris McVeigh has made some amazing lego Xmas ornaments and even better made a perfect building instructionguide. When you order via Lego's pick a brick, you can order exactly the parts you need. Sweet!

Strandvägen 33 Stockholm

2011-11-09T14:49:00.000+01:00

På Sveriges mest exklusiva adress en helt vackert hus (Utgångspris: 24 000 000 SEK) Kanske att köpa och att flyta till?

Stockholm är en av den tio bästa städerna 2012

2011-11-08T15:51:00.000+01:00

Lonely Planet väljer de tio bästa städerna 2012

1. London, England
2. Muscat, Oman
3. Bangalore, Indien
4. Cádiz, Spanien
5. Stockholm, Sverige
6. Guimaraes, Portugal
7. Santiago, Chile
8. Hongkong, Kina
9. Orlando, USA
10. Darwin, Australien

Hmmm...

2011-11-07T13:09:00.000+01:00

TinTin - a visual bonanza

2011-11-06T16:19:00.000+01:00

Wow: I must admit I had my thought about the new TinTin movie. Could it capture the look & feel of the comics and wasn't it as horrible as earlier live action attempts... it is NOT. This is a perfect blend between comic atmosphere and live action. Steven Spielberg has succeeded in bringing TinTin to live and in a great script. When watching the movie you sometimes forget that it is motion captured animation and think it is live action (because of the face expressions and such). The sound track of (as always) John Williams is terrific and helps to turn this film into a classic adventure film.

Pheasant a la No

2011-11-04T10:32:00.000+01:00

We had a great dinner at No&Go because of Ingo's birthday earlier this week.

Uncharted: cool as ever

2011-11-03T13:15:00.000+01:00

I am playing uncharted 3 right now and try not to play the game from beginning to finish in one take. It's awesome - just as I hoped for. If I am very careful maybe it can last for a week or two...

new zapatos

2011-11-03T10:02:00.000+01:00

Nike Free 2+ designed my marque :-)

Mina svenska podcasts

2011-10-31T11:17:00.000+01:00

Om jag vil förbättra förstår svensk och bättre min uttal jag lyssnar mycket gärna på svensk radio podcasts. Mina favoriter är: på minuten, klartext, bokcirkeln, biblioteket och humorhimlen

Fyra år till

2011-10-29T19:45:00.000+02:00

Jag tittar sista filmer av Tova Dorotea Magnusson "Fyra år till" När David plötsligt en dag blir kär är problemet inte att han redan är gift. Problemet är inte ens att den han blir kär i är en man. Davids problem är att mannen har blir handlöst förälskad i, Martin, är den absolut sista på jorden han får bli kär i...