Leighton's Ray Bans

Cookiemouse Ray Ban's, originally uploaded by Cookiemouse.

Today the weather was rather mixed, so I only needed my trademark Ray Ban's for part of the afternoon. 

Manjushri

Manjushri, originally uploaded by Cookiemouse.

The other day I passed by the Palbu Tibetan craft store in the center of Amsterdam, where I saw this beautiful thangka of Manjushri, the Mahayana Buddhist bodhisattva of wisdom.

Giovanni Sollima plays biennale cello

Giovanni Sollima plays biennale cello, originally uploaded by Cookiemouse.

This new cello was built during the Amsterdam Cello Biennale.
Giovanni Sollima played "Terra Aria" to try out the instrument for the first time.
It would be varnished at a later date.

Amsterdam photographer Danielle back to back

Amsterdam photographers back to back, originally uploaded by Cookiemouse.

Amsterdam photographer Danielle Cornelissen also likes to be a photomodel as well as a photowoman. She has a great sense of humor as this spontaneous street shot shows.

Marshall McLuhan understanding blogging

Marshall McLuhan understanding blogging, originally uploaded by Cookiemouse.

The universe decided to give me the Marshall McLuhan classic "Understanding Media" yesterday. We are starting a blogging workshop in OBA this coming Sunday, starting at 3pm. This is one picture option for the flyer.

Amsterdam Cello Biennale

A short animated slideshow of some of the photos I made recently at the Amsterdam Cello Biennale.

Cookie Mouse winks again!

Cookie Mouse winks again!, originally uploaded by Cookiemouse.

The little winking Cookie mouse has had a makeover, boosting the color a bit and cropping the right and bottom edges.

Rick Sammon's Top Ten Digital Photography Tips

Some practical tips on how to take great photographs. Get in close and fill the frame is my photography mantra. Rick has some good advice for us on how to improve the quality of our images.

Green Tara

This beautiful Tara can be seen in the Temple bookstore, Prins Hendrikkade 20-21, Amsterdam (opposite the Centraal Station)

Amsterdam Cello Biennale

Giovanni Sollima

Sollima tries out the biennale cello in Amsterdam last Saturday in the Muziekgebouw aan 't Ij.

The open society and its enemies in Amsterdam

In 1945 my mother was evicted from the miner's cottage she grew up in, shortly after the death of my grandfather. The trauma of being thrown out onto the street stayed with her all her life. The year before, my late father-in-law took part in Operation Market Garden during which many Allied soldiers lost their lives while helping to liberate the Netherlands. This was a history lesson I had to give a Dutch TV reporter today, when he asked how many Poles were in the building that was illegally evicted early on Saturday morning. As it happens most of the occupants were Dutch. Very early in the morning on the Eerste Oosterparkstraat in Amsterdam Dutch riot police entered the apartments while most people were sleeping and dragged them out onto the streets. The police also used pepper spray to pacify people, and according to witnesses who spoke to me, two were badly beaten. 51 people were arrested and 15 are still unaccounted for. So far only three have been given access to a lawyer. Everyone that was there had all of their property taken from them and it was only after a loud noise demonstration outside police headquarters that an agreement was reached so that the property would be returned. According to an eye witness, the riot police banged in the door and asked for someone's ID. It is not a legal requirement to carry ID inside your house in Holland (at least not yet) so the ID was not shown, with the result that the squatter was dragged out onto the street and arrested, as were 51 others. These apartments are still the subject of a court case and the eviction by the police was illegal. Today at 3.30pm I was denied access to the press conference given by the Mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, so I did not get the chance to ask him the reason why this had to happen.
The police claim to have discovered weapons in the apartments such as a hockey stick and some knives. Most houses have knives to use in the kitchen, and I'm not aware that playing hockey is illegal. They are trying to spin this story as some kind of "war on terror" action, rather than what it really is, a typical Dutch cock-up. In the newspapers there is a nice list of the different nationalities that were present in the building and these included British and Polish nationals. My father-in-law was British and served his country well in 1945. Many Poles lost their lives in the Battle of Britain. This is a sad tale of media hype to paint a picture of a squatting movement intent on violence and disorder. Perhaps, Mr Cohen, you should think of the positive contribution that the alternative scene has made to the international image of Amsterdam as a tolerant and open city.

We're the famous Cardiff City and we do the Ayatollah

They say you can take the boy out of Wales, but you can't take Wales out of the boy. Which is why this Saturday I will be glued to the box watching Cardiff City playing in the FA Cup final at Wembley. The last time Cardiff won the cup was in 1927 (that's nearly half past seven!) so it is high time we taught the English the Ayatollah! As always on these great occasions of local patriotism music is part of the action. Cardiff is a media capital so we all have to do our bit to support the "Bluebirds Flying High" by James Fox. Maybe we can get it to number one in the charts by Saturday? Over to you Chalky!

There is a beautiful Norwegian church in Cardiff Bay and as Saturday is the Norwegian National Day we should also remember that many Cardiffians have Viking blood. Cardiff City Supporters of Norway is preparing a double celebration.
Norwegian TV celebrity Tore Stromoy, who was at the semi final said: "It's quite fantastic [for Cardiff City] to be in the FA Cup final. And the best is that it's on Norway's national day, the 17th of May." Maybe I can persuade Milena to start a Croatian Cardiff City fan club? Were there any Vikings in the Adriatic? They made it as far as Sicily so you never know.

It's a proud moment for a Cardiff boy. All I need now is a six pack of Brain's SA and a City T shirt, and it's sorted, clarts! It's gonna be tidy! We're the famous Cardiff City and we do the Ayatollah!

Join me...social decision making

Why do people join groups? Why do people buy stuff? According to Darren of ProBlogger because other people do. He calls it social decision making and says it has improved his affiliate marketing sales. There is a book about a guy who put an ad in a newspaper and said just "Join me!" and people did. I've not read it yet, but I'm going to keep a look out for it.

Maybe we should put an ad on Craigslist and say "Join us!"

Whatever happened to Polaroid?

Technology comes and goes, and often stuff gets left behind and becomes no more than a nostalgic memory. So it is that I've become sentimental about Polaroid, even though I never owned one of their cameras. Still I now have the possibility to produce digital Polaroids with a mouse click. Derivative art, post modern kitsch or call it what you will. Where are the boundaries of the real? Recently I've got into the habit of reading books again, curled up on my couch with a cup of green tea, without a care in the world. Pining for B&W film on a recent visit to Enschede in Holland I came accross The Impossible Project who are making film for Polaroid cameras, so Polaroid lovers, check them out!

Tibet Amsterdam demo, 31/3

On Monday, March 31 there was a demonstration on Dam Square, Amsterdam on behalf of Tibet. These two videos show the speech made by Tsering Jampa, director of the International Campaign for Tibet in the Netherlands. The demo was part of a worldwide day of action.

Eyes of the world on Beijing...Free Tibet

Tibet has a right to self determination. How can we hold the Olympics in Beijing this summer, when human rights are being abused in China?

Prayers for a free Tibet!

Prayers for a free Tibet!, originally uploaded by Cookiemouse.

Peace and freedom are indivisible. In the year when China wishes to hold the Olympic Games, they should show mercy and justice to the Tibetan people. This picture was taken in Monmouthshire, Wales.

Update: China has closed Tibet to the media and is censoring and blocking news websites. Here is the letter sent to the Chinese embassy by the editor of the Guardian. How can anybody now justify holding the Olympics in China?

Green and fairtrade shopping online

Ethiopian fair trade coffee..., originally uploaded by Cookiemouse.

Shopping and caring for the planet is relatively easy in a big city, where there are lots of specialized stores and products available. But what do you do if you live in a remote area? Shop online? Well now there is thepurplebook green, an eco-friendly guide by Hillary Mendelsohn to shopping online. There are over 400 store listings, keyed with little helpful symbols denoting fair trade practices, recycled materials, and the like. You can also visit our new Cookiemouse Store which has a section on recommended eco-friendly and fairtrade products. More and more people are doing their shopping online and there is a growing need for useful information on products that can help to reduce our environmental footprint. Did you know that just by turning off the water when you brush your teeth can make huge savings. Also not getting a receipt from ATMs could save thousands of trees if everybody did it!

German police dogs get shoes

Today saw the beginning of the end for German Parmesan as the European Court of Justice dealt with the question of what is Parmesan. The German government argued that in Germany Parmesan was a generic name for hard cheese. However the court said that only the authentic product bearing the name "Parmigiano Reggiano" could be sold using the name.
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet." said Juliet. It is an old trick. A specific product is given the name of a similar, but better, more exclusive product in the hope that more people will buy it. Sherry, champagne and feta cheese all have their names protected for the same reason, to prevent cheap imitations spoiling the reputation and the sales of the brand. But how do we decide on the names of things? By common consent or after a struggle over markets and definitions. What would happen if I called my cat "iPod?" Could Apple sue me? Of course not. Often the naming process ends up with the top brand (such as Hoover or Biro) ending up being the general name. (Don't worry by the way. We'll get to those police dogs in a minute.) Thus we google as well as search. In the future the German consumer will not need to worry about where the Parmesan came from. Words have power, and so it is that people will go to great lengths to protect them. Not just consumer products but also ideas are subject to the same struggles over ownership. Copyright and patents are the subject of much political and legal debate at the moment. One issue in particular is of vital importance to future generations. As a result of the trend by biotechnology companies to patent seeds, much of the world's food diversity is being put at risk. Recently India and Pakistan have taken steps to protect the name and the genetics of Basmati rice from attempts to patent them. Brand recognition means big bucks and so the temptation to deceive is also great. But what about the German shepherd dogs with shoes? Well they got them because of an idea maybe. The dogs are being given shoes in Dusseldorf because of broken glass on the streets in the famous Altstadt where the Cookiemouse has drunk many glasses of Altbier, one of the best beers in the world. Some years ago, in order to help the environment, the German government put a deposit on cans of beer, and so the glass bottle became popular again. Sadly it seems that the habit of throwing the empties on the street also caught on to the extent that the poor police dogs now need boots! Last night I had to walk home because a piece of broken glass punctured my bicycle tyre. So a plea to drunks with empty beer bottles to dispose of. Can you maybe think of the dogs and bicycles who have to deal with the consequences of your throwaway mentality? Ideas tend to develop a life of their own. Now it seems that as well as giving a dog a bad name, we can also damage its paws with our carelessness. To close on a positive note here is some random Berlin photography that's well worth looking at, and a Lhasa Apso snowdog in Central Park. Wonder if he needs boots?