DeLaMar

View from The Melkweg, 5:00 pm
The new DeLaMar theatre will open in a couple of months. At the moment they are still building the theatre. I am not really a theatre-type. I'm more of a comic book and film type. But when I leaved through the programme of the Amsterdam City Theatre this weekend, some plays did seem interesting. I am very curious about the performance of 'Faust', for instance.

Sunflowerpower

Home, 10:00 pm
Sunday I met Liselotte for a coffee date. Because I posted my 850th blogpost the day before she brought me some sunflowers. The times I've gotten flowers from a lady I can count on one hand. And I can hardly say I've got green fingers. Still, getting flowers is nice.:)

By the way: the number of post do not include these Daily Webhead postings, only the stuff I published on Mike's Webs and my new site. Just so you know.

Uitmarkt 2010

Stanislavski, 3:00 pm
Last weekend it was Uitmarkt in Amsterdam. The Uitmarkt is the national opening of the cultural season and the largest cultural festival in the Netherlands. Visitors get a taste of what is to come in the cultural season and see free samples of musical performances, theatre, film and all kinds of other cultural outings. Since a lot of people come to town, it basically boils down to standing in line for long lengths of time. I took this shot while waiting for Liselotte, my coffee date for Sunday. What you see is only a small portion of a very long line of people, waiting to get into the theatre to see a free preview. When Liselotte arrived a few moments later, it was so crowded that we could forget about getting a cup of coffee, so we moved to Vertigo in The Vondelpark. It was pretty busy there too, but they only forgot to bring us the second round of drinks this time. Which, considering, isn't a bad score for Amsterdam catering.

Salem's Lot

I can't get enough of these old vampire movies. These images are from Salem's Lot, a 1979 miniseries based on a Stephen King novel - whatelse could it be based on but the writings of one of the greatest current master's of horror. I saw the series this week. David Soul in a starring role. If you are able to ignore the 70's fashion and terrible haircuts and like a slow paced story, this one is a treat. I had fun with it.

By the way: the bottom shot shows Bonnie Bedelia as Susan Norton, who's just about to take a bite out of David Soul. Maybe you know her better as Miss McClane from the Die Hard movies. Vampires die hard indeed.

Wim T. Schippers & Theo van den Boogaard

Chiellerie Gallery, Amsterdam 8:00 pm
Friday night, authors Wim T. Schippers and Theo van den Boogaard presented the new omnibus of Sjef van Oekel strips, titled: 'Ik word niet goed.' Cartoonist Peter van Straaten held a speech and the duo sang a couple of songs. Later on they signed the books. A lot of writers and actors were present yesterday. A while ago I interviewed Van den Boogaard about the book.

Pieter van Oudheusden

Stanislavski, 9:00 pm
Yesterday night I interviewed Pieter van Oudheusden for Het Parool. He writes comic books, children books and he's a journalist. It was a great conversation. At the moment I am making a transcript, which I will later turn into an article.

Houseboat

Prinsengracht, Amsterdam 3:45
Yesterday, when I came from the ABC I walked by this nice colourful little houseboat.
A long time ago I got an offer to rent a houseboat in Amsterdam. Since it was only short-term, I didn't do it. And besides that, I am not really a houseboat person. I am not really a boat person as a matter of fact. A houseboat usually is too close to the street, so you get a lot of noise from traffic passing by. And a lot of boats with drunk students or tourists passing by your window. So basically I don't see the fun of living on a houseboat.

Quills

Home, 10:00 pm
Wachting the beautiful film Quills, with Geoffrey Rush as The Marquis de Sade. Great actor, great part.

On the set

Almere, 10:30 pm
Yesterday I shot a video-reportage on a new television programme called Madiwodovrijdagshow. In the lcd display you can see presenter Paul de Leeuw, with his two side-kicks Filemon Wesselink and Erben Wennemars. If you are a member of the VARA, you can check out the video here.

Vondelpark - Take 1

Daily Webhead: Vondelpark - Take 1 from Mike's Webs on Vimeo.

The Vondelpark in Amsterdam is one of my favourite places to hang out. Though, since it usually is very crowded, with hundreds of joggers, tourists, dogs and other visitors, one doesn't really find peace and quiet. This video is another experiment with the Sony Cybershot. It's a first take on the Vondelpark. I figure more will follow.

Four guys on a bench

Leidsegracht, 2:00 pm
Four guys are sitting on a bench, watching the boats in the canal go by. I assume they are friends who are hanging out. Or maybe they keep an eye on the other four guys who are sitting on the bench at the other side of the canal?

Coffee @ Stanislavski

Stanislavski, Leidseplein 12:00 pm
Yesterday, Jeroen Mirck and I met for coffee at Stanislavski. When I walked on, he was reading Het Parool. The newspaper I write for about comic books. While we talked about the media, his new job at Deloitte, blogging and working for the VARA (he just left the broadcasting agency, while I started a couple of months ago), I noticed something different about his face. Then it occurred to me that he has shaven off is beard. :) (See also this entry.)

Shot through the window of the café.

The Satanic Rites of Dracula

Tonight I watched an old Dracula flick from the Hammer studios: 'The Satanic Rites of Dracula', with Christopher Lee as the count. A very dated, rather slow movie by today's standards. This time they moved the story to contemporary times, i.e. London in the 70's. A rather unbelievable plot – which really is one of the joys of these movies. It's always nice to see Lee in action since I am a real Dracula fan.

The Amazing Levitated Dude

Leidseplein, 1:30 pm
I just came from my coffee-date with Jeroen Mirck, when I stumbled upon this dude. He appears to be levitated above the ground, with only a stick to hold on to. But is it real? Or is this just some kind of parlour trick? Well maybe to answer that question: he's a magician and goes by the name of Ramana.

Reading and drinking

Some Café, Amsterdam 3:30 pm
Any self-respecting café should have some good magazines to read. I always like to just sit somewhere where it's nice, read some good articles while I am sipping a nice cup of coffee. I just don't do this often enough. Today my girlfriend and I went for a walk and drink in the neighbourhood somewhere. We talked and drank our tea. I didn't like the music though: too much eighties stuff. Bad beats and bad lyrics. Not a really good place to read anyway.

Movies!

Fame, Kalverstraat, 6 pm
Today I just had to buy some dvd's. I craved for some new movies to watch. It turned out I also bought some old ones but what the heck. (500) Days of Summer, read my review on this movie here. Red Dragon – I still had to see that one and any film with Antony Hopkins in it is worth watching in my book. Basic Instinct – one of Paul Verhoeven's best Hollywood movies. Bram Stoker's Dracula – I just had to see this one after reading about it in Fangoria. And 9 – very curious about this flick. It's gonna be a great weekend.

Fangoria

Hilversum - Amsterdam 4:30 pm
Last weekend I bought this book at de Oude Manhuispoort, where there are lots of sellers of second hand books. Since I am a big fan of vampire stories and films, I couldn't resist buying this collection of articles from Fangoria Magazine. It contains on-set reports of films like From Dusk Till Dawn, Bram Stoker's Dracula and The Lost Boys, and interviews with actors like Christopher Lee and Gary Oldman, Filmmakers and writers of gothic horror like Ann Rice. It's a nice read and makes the trip home seem less tedious.

Talking heads

Home 10:50 pm
Watching the drama series In Theraphy on Dutch Television. I sometimes fall into this program while channel surfing. My friend Jeroen Mirck wrote a review about it, though he is much more enthusiastic about the series than I am. I think it is a rather boring programme. A lot of talking heads and the dramatic conflict basically comes from clients arguing with their therapist. I think the characters aren't that interesting in the first place. In the picture you see actress Halina Reijn, she has just told her therapist Paul that's she's in love with him. Sometimes I see Reijn in the city, usually on the terrace in Stanislavski. Not an unusual spot for an actress who's playing on stage a lot.

Pac-Man burger

Vertigo, Amsterdam 6:00 pm
Today I had a hamburger for dinner at Vertigo. I had dinner with my girlfriend and her mom. It wasn't the greatest burger ever, but better than the crap they serve at McDonald's and Burger King. On the picture it kind of looks like a Pac-Man sandwich. Anyway, Before that I had a wonderful meeting with my client at Het Parool. We discussed new article propositions. I am looking forward to writing them. September and October are going to be busy months :)

Dragonfly

Home, 7:00 pm
Yesterday, after we came home from shopping downtown (I bought too many comic books, as usual :)), a dragonfly dropped by on our balcony.

Magic hour

Leidsebosje, Amsterdam, 8 pm.
'What, another tree pic?' You might wonder. Yes, another tree pic because I like trees. Can't help it, always have. Yesterday I walked home after a long day at work. The sun was going down, and the remaining beams gave a magic glow to everything. In film jargon we call it 'magic hour' for that reason. The light made the trees at the Leidsebosje stand out, it gave me a peaceful feeling while standing in the busy, crowded city.

Ready to shoot-'n-roll

Media Park, Hilversum 5:30 pm
For my work at the VARA I make video reportages and interviews. Yesterday I shot an interview with presenter Menno Bentveld. My colleague Clementine did the interview, while I shot the shots. Although it was late in the afternoon and we figured every one would have left for home around that time, suddenly we heard some one whistle. When we went out to the hall to check out who it was, we saw the one and only Edwin Rutten. Ome Willem himself. One of my heroes from early childhood.

Commuters

In front of Central Station, Amsterdam 5:00 pm
This picture I took while sitting in tram 5, heading home. I don't mind travelling with trains and trams, but find big crowds of people kind of scary. Especially when a large herd is heading towards me, I sometimes feel like an extra in a zombie film. People look like drones when they're heading to their trains, don't you think?

Bus of death

Sumatralaan, Hilversum 4:16 pm
Yesterday, on my way to the train I encountered a bus with an advertisement for a funeral home. Their site: Hetafscheidvanjeleven.nl. (The biggest goodbye of your life). A clever but rather distasteful slogan if you ask me. It's not a bus-ride I am looking forward to, that's for sure.

Sound and vision

The Netherlands institute for sound and vision, Hilversum 9:30 am
The building of the Netherlands institute for sound and vision is near my workplace at the VARA on the Media Park in Hilversum. It's a beautiful building that looks like a big, colourful gem. I walk by it every day. Today I stayed on stop longer in the train, so I had to take a stroll to work. Since I am sitting on my butt most of the day I thought a little walk was in order.

Going up, going down

Amsterdam central station, 8:50 am
My fellow travellers going to or from their trains. One guy is hugging his bike :)

Umbrella time

Leidsestraat, 5:05 pm
It's umbrella time again, that's for sure. I shot this picture heading home. Not looking forward to step out of the tram since it was raining. Then again, I prefer this weather over the soaring heat of summer. Funny thing about this picture is that the guy on the right looks like he's posing. The whole picture has sort of a staged feel to it. Though it's just an average street scene on an average day.

Dinner is served

Home, 7:00 pm
We didn't feel like cooking today, so we took the easy way out. Fast food. Which always seems like a good idea at the time, but while you're chewing the stuff, it really doesn't look that good an idea anymore.

Lazy cat

Overtoom, Amsterdam, 2:45 pm
I am no dog person, I hate the bastards, but not really a cat person either. But I thought this cat was kind of funny, sunbathing on the terrace table of a restaurant.

Boats in a row

Amsterdam, 12:30 pm
No, this is not a part of the gay canal parade. I took this picture this afternoon while taking a stroll with my girlfriend who has just returned from her holiday. We had a lot of catching up to do. The boat in the front is towing the other ones. I thought it was a funny site. Notice the waves on the water: a moment later it started to rain.

Very kitschy candles

De Bekeerde Suster, 7:15 pm
This week Jooper and I had dinner at De Bekeerde Suster in Amsterdam. I had a brilliant hamburger – it was really quite excellent. We talked about all kinds of stuff, but specially music and his recent holiday to Lesbos. Yeah, the place where some lesbians still roame around these days. During our conversation I could help but look at the very kitschy, yet fascinating, candles that we posted near the window. They made me think of Anton Pieck's work.

Naama

Stanislavski, 2:45 pm
After my lunch date with Marcella, I went straight to the second appointment of the day. Naäma Palfrey is a filmmaker and friend, so naturally we talked movies.

Meeting Marcella

Vertigo, Vondelpark, 12:30 pm
Today I had a lunch date with Marcella. We met at university when we both studied film. We've kept in contact since, although thanks to busy schedules it had been a while since we talked. So we had a lot of catching up to do.

Buffy

Sunnydale, night time
I am watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer once more on DVD. But this time only the episodes I really want to see again, which basically means I watched a big part of Season 2. Now moving on to the third season. I am enjoying the trip down memory lane. Thirteen years after its first season the series still holds up and hasn't really aged.

Art courier?

Kerkstraat, 5:00 pm
Heading for comic book shop Lambiek, I encountered this van. Apparently it is an art courier. But would you entrust your precious artworks to such a van with such a shabby written message?

Talking with Merel B.

Café Vertigo, Vondelpark, 11:50 am
Comic book artist Merel Barends and I had an early Monday morning meeting to discuss everything from comic books, life and blogging. She has just started her own blog, which pleases me very much, since I've been nagging her to start one for ages. Check out De Woelige Barends.

'In the mood for love'

Bosboom-toussaint straat, Sunday 1st of August, 1:12 pm
Heading for the ABC I encountered this message written in chalk in front of a house: 'In the mood for love'. Aren't we all? Still, a great invite if I ever saw one, but since I'm already in a happy relationship, I didn't knock on the door and just walked on.

Last week's meet & greets

Last week posts about my short trip to Delft have occupied this blog. So since none of last week's photographs could be published, I'll make a special post with the pics I took while meeting with some of my friends.

Natasja van Loon, Stanislavski, 7:00 pm
She's a writer and pr-specialist who loves comic books.

Nicoline Hermans, Le Pain Quotidien, 12:45 pm
She is a very good psychologist/HR consultant who wrote blogposts for me while I ran an website for Intermediair back in the day. She actually still writes them.

Paul Bodoni, Comic shop Lambiek, 7:00 pm
Bodoni and I met for the first time, actually at the comic shop Lambiek, where there's a get-together every Friday afternoon. Bodoni is a comic book artist who currently lives in Sweden.

Jeroen Mirck, Stanislavski, 12:30 pm
Jeroen is a journalist, a blogger and a local politician (but still a nice guy actually). Today he started a new job at Deloitte Innovation. Recently he has grown a beard. Just so you know.

Cruising in Delft

Daily Webhead: Cruising in Delft from Mike's Webs on Vimeo.

Delft, Sunday 12:00 pm
When we were in Delft, we went for a tour of the canals. A bit silly and cliché, but then again, you learn some nice stuff about the history of the place.

By the way, this will be the last blog-post about my trip to Delft. From tomorrow, it will be Daily Webhead as usual.