June 20, 2016

Swiss company gives 19th century Amsterdam colour

Filed under: History,Photography by Orangemaster @ 4:58 pm

800px-Amsterdam_photochrom

Thanks to the magic of photochromy, the art of reproducing colours by photography, the company Photoglob from Zurich, Switzerland lets us enjoy colour pictures of Amsterdam taken between 1890 and 1900, which were originally black and white.

Thanks to RTVNH having a slow news moment, you can enjoy more pictures of Amsterdam including the Amstel river, Central Station, the Rijksmuseum, and a few more by following the link below.

(Link: www.rtvnh.nl, Photo of Dam Square, Amsterdam by Unknown, some rights reserved)

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October 6, 2015

Dam Square backdrop to powerful techno jam

Filed under: Music by Orangemaster @ 10:30 am

DamSquare

On Dam Square in Amsterdam, in front of the palace and the National Monument, we get entertainment of all kinds from hotdog sellers and human statues to ferris wheels and protests. The usual reaction to most of it is to walk past very quickly to get to where you were going, but the music this guy cranked out in the video below was worth a good listen and some small change.

Dario Rossi, an Italian with a taste for techno, is wowing a well behaved crowd. I very much like the timber of many of the objects he has: paint drums, woks and assorted pots and pans. His sense of rhythm is a delight as well and he switches back and forwards with ease. Divertiti!

(Link: www.waarmaarraar.nl)

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January 2, 2008

Dam disclaimer for New Year’s concert

Filed under: General,Weird by Orangemaster @ 1:41 pm
disclaimer-dam1.jpg

I know they have surveillance cameras and some web cameras downtown Amsterdam, but walking down the street and seeing a disclaimer posted before arriving on Dam Square made me uneasy. No glass and no fireworks is understandible, but warning me about possibly being on TV, YouTube and the likes does not seem necessary. Will people actually think of sueing for being on TV without their permission? I can’t possibly imagine it has come to this in 2008. And I’ll leave the quality of the English translation alone since it’s clear enough.

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October 10, 2007

Donald Duck in Amsterdam

Filed under: Architecture,Comics by Branko Collin @ 1:30 pm

Albeit an American export, the Donald Duck comic is something typically European. For some reason, Donald Duck comics haven’t done much in their country of origin. In the Netherlands however, Donald Duck magazine — subtitled “The merry weekly” — is considered the blueprint of how to make a successful magazine. It has existed for well over 50 years, and has always been a hit, not in the least because grown-ups kept buying the magazines for themselves and their children long after they supposedly should have grown out of comics themselves.

Donald Duck’s adventures often take place in Duck Town, which is a generic city in the US. Whenever couleur locale managed to creep into a locally produced comic, it would be an exception. But the Dutch magazine is now sending its main characters on the road, and is working on a story that takes Donald, Scrooge, and the three nephews to Amsterdam. Daily De Telegraaf reports (Dutch) that there will be gables, canals, and the royal palace on Dam Square (so-called because it is where the actual dam was built in the river Amstel).

Disclaimer: I have co-written a few stories for Donald Duck magazine myself in the past, but I have no ties to the magazine.

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