The best kiss of 2013

This was also the year that young avengers Hulkling and Wiccan Kissed for the very first time :-)

Hear My Saying..

Maybe Africa next vacation?


I have A New Room

Room 2 for the iPad that is. I greatly enjoyed the original game "The Room" - which I couldn't stop playing until I had finished. Now I have  set a limit of 15 minutes a day for myself - to let me enjoy the sequel a little longer.

Don’t Panic!

We are enjoying a rerun of all the nine series of Dad's Army and really, really enjoying it too. How is it possible that a comedy series which is 35 years old still is a funny as it is and not "Doooooooooomed..."? The cast is probably the answer - they are a perfect match for their individual characters. DA was also a movie, theatre show and radio series - maybe nice to listen to the latter.

And the Oscar goes to Tom Hanks for Captain Phillips

Wow: based on a true story this "Pirate" movie is really intense - especially the last half hour or so. It has everything to do with Tom Hanks, in his best role ever. It is an emotional roller coaster which grips you the moment the pirates get aboard and only lets you go when Hanks is letting go... Surely the best performance of the year.

How to sell air...

Would you like to breathe the air of the picturesque French town ofMontcuq? For just 5.50 euros (plus another five for shipping to the U.S.), a 250ml tin full of that air could be yours. And it is a big success. By the way in France the name Montcuq is frequently mispronounced as "mon cul," which translates to English as "my ass. So actually  "Air de Montcuq" is something like "the wind of my ass."  Well: you get the drift... On the label: "Fresh air of Montcuq is 100% organic, it immerses you in the depths of the city to refresh your ideas. Ideal when you are in need of creative inspiration. Attention: irreplaceable content, consumable once. Do not leave it open..."

Hmmm...


Book map


Nice last minute X-mas present: A street map made up from the titles of over 600 books from the history of English Literature, including classics such as Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Bleak House, Vanity Fair and Wuthering Heights as well as 20th and 21st Century works such as The Waste Land, To the Lighthouse, Animal Farm, Slaughterhouse 5, The Catcher in the Rye, The Wasp Factory, Norwegian Wood and The Road.

Mars: First Contact

Cannot wait for this Turing movie

Benedict Cumberbatch will play Alan Turing in the upcoming movie The Imitation Game.
The script is adapted by Graham Moore from Andrew Hodges’ book Alan Turing: The Enigma

Look what I found in my bed this morning...


X-Mas is coming

Time to set up our (Peruvian) Christmas nativity group.

New Car - BMW i3

I just got confirmation that our new car: the ALL electric(!) BMW i3 will be delivered this year. Very excited and a bit anxious about how this car will perform in a day-to-day manner...

Kronkel wandeling - twisted walk

What a great idea of the Press Museum to organize a walk along the famous spots in Amsterdam that Simon Carmiggelt wrote about in his "Kronkels". We will walk the route in January.

Velocity


Drizzle

Thank you Nelson Mandela


Santa and Joe

Santa Claus brought us these great sweaters from Joe Merino

Bill Clintons' doodle


hmmm...


Keeping up with the news


3D painting exhibition at Shenyang Art Gallery


At the SIDN anual seminar

I was keynote speaker at the anual SIDN (the administrator of .nl) seminar today. Because my subject was " My Mistakes as an Internet Entrepeneur" - I had to limit myself and focus on the biggest mistakes - otherwise I should have needed the whole event...

All I want for X-mas is some Lego

After the amazing Lego architecture buildings which you can recreate - it is time to create some awesome new buildings on your own. With this new kit you can do just that. Unfortunately it is sold out already... :-(

X-mas specials to stay at home for

The nice thing about spending home for X-mas is all the X-mas TV specials. This year I am particularly looking forward for:
  • Downton Abbey
  • Call The Midwife
  • Sherlock
  • Mrs. Brown's Boys
And that very special documentary: "David Attenboroughs Natural History in 3D"

Novel way to get hired...

Jens Lennartsson is a photographer from Sweden who makes great pictures, but want to have a bit more interesting assignments - so he made a action figure of himself and mailed it to potential clients...

Midnight Train

Ocean Waves

RIP MIng (507 years old)

The world’s oldest animal was a shellfish, called "Ming". British scientists pried open the poor mollusk to “research” it and killed it on the spot - what a way to day after 507 years...

Why I go Nuts


Eating a handful of nuts each day could help you live a longer and healthier life, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. A whopping 20 percent lower chance of dying from any cause actually and.. they also contribute to weight loss. What more do you need? NUTS!

Dr Who - Who is the best?

As Doctor Who is nearing its 50th anniversary - the question is: who was the best Doctor anyway? For me it was Tom Baker. Especially his first three series were full of humor, quirkiness and funny shawls...

Selfie

Now that selfie is the word of the year - what else could I post today than a...uh..selfie!

Somewhere on the Place the Vosges


Only in Paris.. a shop with jam


At Photo Fever


At Paris Photo


Place de la Bastille

As always we are staying at the Marais near the place the la Bastille - a great area for eating, shopping and.. sleeping :-)

It is Paris time again - so Foie Gras time

We are in Paris for the Paris Photo exhibition so we will have plenty opportunity to sample some excellent French food... :-)

Hear all evil...


hmmm...


Korean Penguins

The day Rufus moved in


Strange fashion statements part II: The Onesie

I did see some a couple of years ago in Upsala, but now this one tracking suit fashion from Norway has firmly took ground in the UK. (It didn't help that the One Direction boys all are wearing them). It wouldn't be the UK if they hadn't created special X-mas onesies: You can buy a animal onesie fro your X-mas party everywhere.

Strange fashion statements part I: The X-mas jumper


While we're in Edinburgh we cannot avoid looking at rows and rows full of X-mas jumpers. Most of them with Snowman, Reindeer and Santa Claus. In the most terrible pattern, colors and extras (like bells). This year it seems that EVERYONE is supposed to wear such a jumper at X-mas in the UK. When did this "grandma self knitted" craze started? Was it Bridget Jones the movie?

Edinburgh Castle

Yes we are in Edinburgh and the castle remains one of the best views of the world in a city center. (specially with dramatic Scottish clouds)

Why I am glad that Evel Knievel had lots of accidents - and survived them all...

When riding my motorbike in not so perfect autumn conditions I sometimes have to think about Evel Knievel. If you realize how many "accidents" this guy had during his motorbike stunts and always survived (sure with a couple of broken ribs and bones), then you feel much safer...

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Now that the premiere of "The Hobbit part 2" is nearing (who ever had the idea of putting this thin book into THREE major motion pictures?) it is nice to remember the first time I read The Hobbit. I actually started with this book before The Ring trilogy and I was about 12 I guess. Every time I read parts of the story I immediately go way back in time when I first wandered in  Rivendell and and the Misty Mountains

Don't ask...


The Skating Dog

Marque Air

After my Nike Air, Airbook what else then a logical choice to buy the new iPad Air? So Marijn and I waited for an half hour in the Amsterdam Apple queue and got us a space grey one. And YES: it is much lighter and faster :-)

Asterix is back

I cannot wait to get my hand on the new Asterix album: Asterix and the Picts. Created by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad, overseen by original creator Albert Uderzo. Let's hope that it is better then the last couple of albums, which Underzo did himself and by doing so almost killing of the whole series.

Hmmm...


Masculin

Something to look forward to: a visit to Musée D'Orsay to see the Masculin Exhibition.

How to visit a Megastar?

Dame Edna Everage is probably the most popular and gifted woman in the world today:  housewife, investigative journalist, social anthropologist, talk show host, swami, children’s book illustrator, spin doctor, Megastar, and Icon. So no wonder that when she announced her farewell tour - the world shivered. And I mean that in a loving and caring way. Dirk and Roland gave us the idea to visit Edna and so we will in Edinburgh.

New Pattas

Adidas Originals Nizza Hi Black with Primaloft lining - to keep my feet warm and dry - just as the doc ordered.