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Took a ferry from Amsterdam CS to Velsen, and a bus to IJmuiden, in search of photographs and fresh fish.

Ended up on IJmuiden beach and at a fair on the promenade, awash with other day trippers.

Everything was ugly. Cheap ware on sale. Burger joints and football jerseys. People.

A seamen’s choir was murdering Irish traditionals (Fiddler’s Green, Black Velvet Band, translated in Dutch.). Hoompapa, hoompapa.

I picked a restaurant, ordered Redfish, ate and watched the other, mainly elderly, people there.

At the table behind me, a man was telling a story about a woman who had lost control and had let everything go. Couldn’t cope with anything. Hadn’t opened her mail, hadn’t paid any bills, or taxes until she was declared bankrupt.

A nasty scale stuck at the back of my throat. I ran for the bus, but the driver wouldn’t stop.

Eleven years ago, I saw British comedian Eddie Izzard perform a show in Amsterdam. Not long after, I set up a website about him, which ran in various incarnations from ‘95 to ‘2000. It was my most succesful website, at least until we set up Whedonesque.com.

I hooked up an old HD to my computer yesterday, and found the most recent backup of the site, made just before I took the site off line in 2000. Among the files were two original pieces I wrote. They are a review and an interview, both of which I’d like to share with you again, starting with the review.

I’ve also put part of the site back online, not originally created by me, but given to me to host. It gives me great pleasure to present: Pantscat!, an early Izzard creation.

The review follows after the break. I haven’t followed Izzard’s career the past five years. I stopped ‘believing’ and thought he was a bit too calculating, too eager in the quest for fame. Not a lot of soul. Then I just lost interest. But this was written at the height of my comparatively brief obsession with the man who said ‘Jam!’

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Took some pictures of Sneakerfreak’s CD launch concert in the ‘Rozentheater’ in Amsterdam. The lighting engineer was very keen on red and yellow. Sigh. Focusing was hard, had to shoot at 1.8 all the time, except for the few times he flooded the guys with white light, so those images are blown out. 99% of the shots are soft. Bah.

Someone else (a photography student) was shooting with the kit lens. I wonder how she fared.

Not sure if the focusing problem isn’t down to the (old) 85mm not working nicely with the new 350d body.

A Crumpler shop? Here in Amsterdam? That’s like a CRACK DEN, don’t they understand? I swear I went out to buy a LowePro bag, but came back with another Crumpler. What? LowePro = expensive, ugly. Crumpler = less expensive, pretty. It’s a no brainer.

I walked in carrying my “Wonder Weenie” and the Aussie “no worries” shop assistant said ‘Great bag!’ Then he took a closer look and told me I had my strap done the wrong way. ‘Fix it, fix it!’ I told him, which he did. I loved it. Usually in shops these days staff know absolutely bugger all about anything, least of all the products they’re selling.

Did I really ‘need’ another camera bag? I did indeed, my old ones no longer fit my equipment.

So I came home with a “Loyal Chap” (black), which allegedly fits 2 bodies and 5 lenses. Haven’t tried that, but it fits my crazy large lens upright plus the body and three smaller lenses, leaving enough space for paraphernalia.

All the while I was eyeing their discount shelf (30% off last year’s range), where among others a pretty purple “Heinous” and one of their smaller backpacks (“Team Player“) in a fetching oatmeal/brown hue was giving me the eye, but I resisted temptation.

Summer Glau (River Tam in Serenity) is very pretty. I attended the
premiere in Amsterdam on Tuesday evening, where Summer and Nathan
Fillion (Captain Mal Reynolds) were guests of honour. Quite a few good shots
even though the red carpet thing was a nightmare. But every time I do
this kind of thing, I get hungry for more, and hungrier for better
equipment, although you definitely learn to make do with what you have.
An L-series 28-300 (dream on) would come in very, very handy. Or a second body.



This is my favourite one of the evening.

I saw the movie Serenity this weekend. This is my ‘review’.

Serenity is the Joss Whedon film based on the shortlived Firefly TV series. Last Saturday, I joined the fans at browncoats.nl, for a very special screening at the UIP office here in Amsterdam. It was the perfect way to see it. The film hadn’t been subtitled yet, there was no intermission and the audience didn’t talk or cough or kick my chair or munch popcorn or neck. So that was fab. There weren’t any cast members, like at many of the USA screenings, but that’s ok, I wouldn’t know what to say anyway.

I’ll post my non-spoilery thoughts here and then spoilers after the break and I’ll probably invisitext them too, so you’ll have to highlight them with the cursor.

First of all, for those reading this that do not know, I was a big Buffy & Angel fan and I run Whedonesque.com, a website dedicated to all things Joss Whedon, the writer / creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel. Having said that, the people that post on my site are the real fans. I can name some episode titles, but not all and I have no idea which writer wrote which episode. Basically, I was heavily invested in the whole watcher/slayer thing and Scooby friends/family vibe. That spoke to me.

Unfortunately the Buffy series didn’t explore that enough and became more about ‘who is doing the Slayer today’ and ‘female empowerment’ (barf), so I really didn’t care much for the final two seasons. Secondly, I liked Firefly, but didn’t love it like I loved BtVS and Angel. So yeah, I’m a fan, I run the website, but it isn’t life or death to me, you know what I mean? (Those with no experience in any fandom at all will have NO idea what I’m on about.)

When Firefly first aired on TV, I had a hard time connecting with the characters. There were so many, I didn’t have an immediate favourite and I didn’t fancy any of them either. Since then, I’ve watched the series a few times and I’ve grown quite fond of it. But still not in a ‘oh god, I adore these people and they’re telling my story’ kind of way.

Shortly after seeing the film on Saturday, I posted to Whedonesque about it and the minute I posted, the site and most of my other sites went offline. Which completely sucked for all the obvious reasons, but also because it meant I couldn’t talk about the film when I was still completely pumped up about it. So here is what I wrote:

Well, let’s put it this way. I went in with a lot of real life stuff on my mind and a pretty low mood.

I forgot all about it when the film started and I didn’t think of it for one second during, and for about 30 minutes after it ended I was still blissfully forgetful of said real life stuff. I was in a different world for the entire film.

That Joss. He brings the funny. And the scary. And the sad. And the poignant. And the relevant. All in one ‘big damn movie’!

So if you liked scifi, Star Wars, etc… you’ll be surprised, because this film has real acting, real dialogue, real emotions. If you don’t like scifi, you can still go see Serenity, because this film has real acting, real dialogue, real… you catch my drift. Go see it on opening week. Take your friends. Because when enough people show up for opening week… we’ll get sequels. God knows, we may even get a ‘cancelled’ TV series back on the (not so) idiot box.

Continue if you don’t mind spoilers… (highlight to make the text visible)

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I’m back from an emotional, tiring, infuriating, gezellig, sometimes boring, other times amazing, invigorating and brilliant week seeing U2 three times in my hometown, Amsterdam.

We queued, ran, waited, jumped, ate, drank, were merry, queued, hated, laughed, queued, sang, shouted, clapped, cried, queued, queued, queued and fucking queued some more and finally got our reward on night III, with a fabulous show that will be remembered and go into the books as ‘historic’. I know, because I’ll be the one writing it.

On Tuesday we (Dutch, Aussie and EnZed) paid our respects to our old friend at Zorgvlied cemetary. (Picture, ‘friends/family’ only) Typically, having taken a different entrance than usual, we ran around like headless chickens for a while before we found him. In the evening, we had dinner at Moshi Moshi, who serve the most amazing sushi. Tempura shrimp & avocado maki, Rainbow maki… fantastic.

I don’t remember much about Wednesday except the heat and a good show.

On Thursday morning, I woke up and found a message from G. on my mobile. His father passed away that night. I felt helpless and a little removed from it — with my head stuck in U2-land. Hoppy and I we were good kids that day and went shopping while the others got their autographs and stuff at U2’s hotel. In the evening, we walked down to De Pijp for some so-so lamb.

Friday was my low point — I was grumpy and irritable all day and hated everybody and the show and its tedious set list. And I felt so bad for G. and unrealistically wanted B. to at least acknowledge what happened, even if none of the 50,000 present would understand. Selfish, maybe, but selfish on someone else’s behalf.

By Saturday, I was hallucinating from exhaustion, having waking dreams and coming out the weirdest stuff. The show that night made up for the night before and then some. Besides the musical moments, B. gave me exactly what I wanted, dedicating ‘Sometimes’ to G.’s dad and doing a little impression of him. And the 50,000 had no clue what he was on about, but I sang along and grieved and cried. For G. and for those we have lost. I am he and he is she and we are all together.

On Sunday morning, my friend had his mobile robbed at Central Station, on his way to the airport. Back to reality.

I hope to never be in another queue again.

The week ahead, the day today. Got word from a very old Kiwi friend coming down for a few days in Amsterdam round about the same time an Aussie friend is staying with me for the U2 shows. Both of ‘em sort of came over to Europe to see the band and never left, making Europe a little richer with their presence. Take it from me, we all need an Aussie/EnZed presence in our lives.

That’ll be Antipodean week then. Tihrruhfuc! It’ll be a good time to reminisce about the old days and the fun we had during the Lovetown tour, Zooropa, PopMart, Elevation… christ, it’s growing up with U2.

Feeling iffy about going to Paris tomorrow and completely drained from yesterday’s horrific events in London. I text my worries into space and get an instant booster: cliches and kisses from my own… personal… Jesus.

Performing in Amsterdam for the first time in ten years, Maria McKee seemed surprised (though you never know with her) so many had come out to see her.

Personally, I had expected a bigger crowd. The Paradiso staff had made their main room more intimate, putting tables and large plants down and moving the soundstage up a good way towards the stage.

She played all my favourites. Even the oldies: Breathe, Dixie Storms, Shelter, Wheels… fabulous to hear them all again, as well as tracks off her new album ‘Peddlin’ Dreams’. Unpredictable and slightly mad (she says) as ever. Another one of those ‘criminally’ underestimated artists I like so much.

Setlist: You Are The Light, I Can’t Make It Alone, Am I The Only One, Peddlin’ Dreams, High Dive, Wheels, The Horse Life, Shelter, Turn Away, Sullen Soul, Worry Birds, If Love Is A Red Dress, Dixie Storms, Barstool Blues, People in the Way, In Your Constellation, Everyone’s Got A Story, Breathe, Life Is Sweet.

Some photos

U2 Euro Vertigo Tour Madness 2005 is about to start. I will leave for Brussels in the morning, make a brief stop back in Amsterdam on Saturday and then off to Gelsenkirchen (Germany) on Sunday. ‘Try not to enjoy yourself and not to treat it all as ‘work’, a friend said earlier today. I must confess that what I am feeling right now has more in common with a sense of tradition and duty and less with excitement or passion. But when the lights go down and The Edge hits us with whatever he’s planning to do with that new ‘holosonic‘ stuff he’s apparently trying out this tour, the adrenaline will probably start kicking in. Updates at u2log.com.