Amsterdam .. Esra's pictures part 1

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the first of the Amsterdam pictures.. the view from our patio, out back from the room we stayed in for the first 5 days.


my favorite car in the world and a Persian market and I'm in Amsterdam. Could it be more perfect? Well, ok.. I could be getting mobbed by a naked Dutch girls soccer team. that happened a different day.

heading into town on our first day. I know I dont look thrilled but I am. I'd guess that Esra made me pose for 5 minutes while she got 'the perfect shot'.


Surinam is to Amsterdam what Thailand is to San Francisco. ok, that was a little vague... there's Surinamese food everywhere.

One of the many beautimus buildings in Amsterdam.


Look how freakin' cute Esra is! No, really. LOOK, damn it.




they call these bi-cy-cles. I'm not sure what they do.


I would give a million billion dollars of your money to be here right now.


I think these are some of the original locks (?) They were near the outer rings of the city, so it'd make sense.


Artsy fartsy photo taking to the rescue!




those same locks from a different angle. sigh. y'know if I lived there, I could.. y'know... see this stuff all the time.

Esra's camera's brain decided that the building to the left, built in 1690 was more photo worthy than my head. I'm inclined to agree.





Esra in a cool alley.

Esra in a cool alley, part 2.

If I hadn't cut off Esra's face, this would be the coolest photo in the world! the WORLD I tell you!
This one too. little did I know (or check) but Esra's camera has something on it called... what's th.. oh yeah ZOOM. and... it seems you have to set said zoom before taking a picture. The one armed bandit does not acknowledge such photographic specializations.




Old & new. Who doesn't love a good crane. Crane-haters, that's who.




the view from Hennie's kitchen window. Hennie, being the nicest boarding lady y'ever could hope for.




there's Hennie now.
and Esra's friend Raymond, down from Rotterdam to hang with us. And the other boarder staying in Hennie's flat, Salvador. When Salvador first arrived, I'd heard his voice before seeing him - I would have bet $100 that it was a woman speaking.


Raymond and I on one of Amsterdam's 2481 bridges.


I'm not sure who these people are but they're crazy hot.


Flowers for Hennie for being so awesome. Really. if you need a place to stay in Amsterdam, we can hook you up with her.


Esra made me pose in front of this wall.. something about good colors, something something. Sometimes I just dont ask, I just do.



Ducks build makeshift nests on floating debris or little rafts people leave out for them.



Or styrofoam.


It seems that their bedroom is in the boat but the patio is the styrofoam.

Sooo freakin' cute it's almost enough to want to jump in and hang out with them.


More cool buildings, probably built before Columbus was in utero.

Listicle 17.Ŀ ł

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Ö▫▫▫▫▫ from a Stephen Colbert [Report] intro: they say that only drunks and children tell the truth. ... Guess which one I am?

Ö▫▫▫▫▫ the OhMyGod_I'mSoExcitedToSeeThis item of the week is this.
....Update: they have an official website now.

Ö▫▫▫▫▫ from a blog:
“Let’s see if I have this right. The Arab ‘terrorists’ attack military units, destroy at least one tank, and are therefore terrorists. Israel retaliates by launching aerial, naval, and artillery bombardments of civilian areas and they are engaging in self-defense. If we are unable to recognize the hypocrisy of this construct then we ourselves are so enveloped by propaganda and emotion that, like the Israelis, Hezbollah, and Hamas, we can’t think rationally. We can only think in terms of tribalism and revenge.”

Ö▫▫▫▫▫ Stare at this for a while. it should move. sorry that it's a heart.

headbutts are the new "Whateverrr!"

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≈≈≈≈≈Ahh, the world cup... the best thing about the world cup finale yesterday (wherein French player Zidane headbutted a player, got himself red-carded and essentially lost the World Cup for France)?
FACT: Every non-french-person who knows or runs across a french person will bring up 'the game'. This, in turn, will make the french person try to explain and apologize for (almost surely in a somewhat-understandably passive-agressive way) the Zidane headbutt that more or less cost the French team the game. As an all-too-frequent explainer-of-all-things-Iranian-whenever-Iran-is-in-the-news, I give this headbutt-inspired phenomenon a rating of: DELICIOUS!
≈≈≈≈≈ on NPR this morning, I heard the following quote: "ze Italians knew zat ze only way zey could ween was if zey toook out ouwr best plaiy-ere, so zey cheat and made Zidan ang-ery and now Italy wons ze game! sacre-bleu!!!" - ok, he didn't say sacre-bleu but I swear I heard a human being with an actual human brain say the rest of that quote.
≈≈≈≈≈ meanwhile, French Prez Jacques Chirac said "Dear Zinedine, in such a hard and intense moment for you, I would like to express the whole nation's affection and admiration for you. You are a virtuoso, a genius of football and an exceptional human being. That is why France admires you." - I swear. I'm not makin' any of this stuff up. Zidane is not a reactionary thug, silly people! he's a hero! these are real quotes! Chirac went on to exclaim "Sacre Bleu!". ok, no he didnt.
≈≈≈≈≈ update: God ordained Zidane to headbutt (in the name of the Lord): "My act is not forgivable," Zidane said. "But they must also punish the true guilty party, and the guilty party is the one who provokes." ... "I tell myself that if things happened this way, it's because somewhere up there it was decided that way ... And I don't regret anything that happened, I accept it." God was then heard to say "Sacre bleu! you frickin' humans! will you ever take responsibility for your own actions?! I swear to.. ...myself (Nooo Jesus, dont give me that look - I wasn't gonna say your name, lighten up)"

≈≈≈≈≈ Is it just me or has the world completely accepted open acts of retribution? (Oh. right. Israel / Palestine) There's no turn-the-other-cheek anymore, no I'm-better-than-responding-to-your-taunt, no if-I-descend-to-your-level-I'm-just-as-bad-as-you. We openly support those who take matters into their own hands, proclaiming them heroes. Granted, this is coming from someone who advocates the use of the Raider Shoulder as social educator but I thought world opinion was a little more.. pacifist... "Vengeance is mine, sayeth.. ahh heck, whoever wants to! Go for it... Sacre Bleu!"

Mugatu: Doesn't anybody notice this? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!
from Zoolander

Listicle 16.9ŀ

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˚˚˚˚˚ Every commercial should start out with this sentence. I think the last line is from the Bible. or maybe not. seriously, watch it for the first line at least.

˚˚˚˚˚ OhMyGodohmygodOH0HYgod I'm not sure if I could be more excited! well, ok, maybe. right now though, at this moment? the T demands my allegiance.

˚˚˚˚˚˚˚ This paragraph.. this ... I cant.. whu... I ... quick.. where's my trashcan?! The first order of business is catching a chicken. Dwight [Yoakam] runs around in his backyard with his arms outstretched. His favorite technique is to corner a hen and leap on it. When he catches one, he inserts the chicken, beak-first, into an old fashioned laundry-wringer (the same one that his grandma, who sang briefly with the Carter Family and who bought young Dwight his first hammer dulcimer, used to launder baby Dwight's drawers) and turns the crank until a "chicken pancake" comes out the other side. Next, he uses an empty tin can to cut out "chicken circles" from the pancake. He pokes his finger through each chicken circle to create a "chicken ring."

˚˚˚˚˚˚ Get a rake, do some art, .. take pictures of it from a kite - good stuff.

˚˚˚˚˚ I dont normally go in for these, but - holy - swimming - eyeballs- . watch a bit, then look at something else.

˚˚˚˚˚ I'm gonna ride this thing down 5th Avenue's sidewalks. I hope it's got a horn. Other awesomely strange vehicles. (I really do want one of these someday)

cam-ruh-fone pic-chyuz... part 1 and a .. ok, just 1

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something is was wrong with the interface i use to upload pictures so i had to split the pics into 3 posts. infuriating! i know! I'm making you Page Down through them. you can punch me in the arm next time you see me.

Fireworks from my roof signal the end of Gay Pride week in New York. This is the 3rd year I've seen 'em and they're the f'n best.. perfectly framed between two tall buildings, I call them the Big Gay Fireworks.




Purrrrrty.


Blurrrrrrry.



BOOM! ohhh the sound reverberations. I'm sure you can imagine (the sounds bouncing off of hundreds of building surfaces)



the finale? maybe.





sometimes blur is a good thing.

see?
no fireworks here... Empire State Bldg in red/white/blue, Metropolitan life bldg in blue & white to the right of it. a 'new' (and 3 years empty) luxury loft bldg in white to the far left. warning: exploring the link to the bldg will make you murderously envious of rich people who can afford to live there.




Ukranian Day festival. awesome dancing and clothes and food. oh and oompa-pa-ish music.




see? dancing.
















Saturday (smalltime) fireworks from a different rooftop BBQ in brooklyn!





Yep. t'was a rooftop-bbq-filled wknd.

cam-ruh-fone pic-chyuz... part 2

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the Ukranian Day festival continues, with awesome Ukranian church in the background.



I got a picture of Singing Scotty! wait, did i post this before? who cares - there he is again with his belly and his jamba juice cup filled with 7-up and gin. he sang The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow, as per his contractual obligations to craziness.


Sunday rooftopness. And BBQness. From my volleyball teammate Mike's rooftop in Long Island City.




This and the two shots below are a panorama from left to right.




panorama middle




panorama right.
Esra tries to capture lightning flashes. It started to lightly rain but we all just stood & got a little wet. You know that perfect type of light rain and warm weather that feels nice together? oh ya, and we were drinking.

Lightning watchers. pictured in the background from left to right is the Empire State Bldg, some big black bldg, the Chrysler bldg aaaannnd.. who cares what the others are?


More lightning watchin'.



Annnnd ... the evening came on like this. except that this photo doesn't even do it 1/10th the justice it deserves. Maybe Esra's photos will get closer to what it was really like.

cam-ruh-fone pic-chyuz... part 3

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obligatory shot of the boys! sleep is a cuteness intensity magnifier.



Esra and I at Sunken Forrest on Fire Island. All of Fire Island, I was told, is accessible (only) by those wooden walkways.
Despite massive protests by concerned citizens, the one armed bandit was not banned from entering the Sunken Forrest.


4th of July from the same (as 3 nights prior) Brooklyn rooftop. clear picture, huh? c'mon! whadaya expect? this is me taking pictures.
4th of July fireworks from the Brooklyn rooftop or .. maybe Fallujah. some say the difference isn't worth mentioning. I'm not sure who those people are or why they say it.





Why does the balloon warehouse have to be in frickin' Harlem??? Grrrr.



This girl is a super-mega-bitch for almost accidentally getting in my way for this photo. Or, she's completely innocent. You decide!