Heading home

Amsterdam center, 5:30 pm
I took these shots from the tram while heading home this afternoon. Usually I like to read while being public transported, but it was a long day and I just wanted to relax some. But I got bored so started to take some pictures.

Drawing cartoon porn

Comic book convention De Stripdagen Houten, 2:00 pm
This is the hand of comic book artist Fred de Heij who is making an illustration for one of his regular customers. One who had very specific demands regarding what he wanted to see in the drawing. Fred and I just made a short story together for his magazine 'Pulpman'. I wrote the story, he made the fabulous artwork for it.

Artist sipping a soda

Comic book convention De Stripdagen Houten, 1:15 pm
Comic book artist Argibald takes a sip of his soda before he continues signing his new cartoon book on the Xtra publishing stand.

The ultimate Scoutmaster

Comic book convention De Stripdagen Houten, 1:00 pm
My friend and comic book artist Hallie Lama is posing in a scouting uniform. Yesterday at the comic book convention De Stripdagen, he presented his cartoons about scouting. 100 years of scouting was the main theme of the convention this year. In Holland they really know how to make conventions hip by choosing great themes that appeal to the youthful comic book readers. (Yeah, I am being ironic.) It's great that Hallie say the humour in it.

Karin takes a picture

Seats2meet, Utrecht 8:00 pm
Karin Ramaker is taking a picture of...well I guess feet or shoes, at a freelance gathering she organised with a couple of other people. The picture is probably on her blog somewhere. Karin is heavy in to blogging and blogs 24/7. Bless her. Check out her site: met-k.com.

The Blues Brothers

Walking through the city I came across these Blues Brothers. I still love that movie. It's one of the great classics.

AHA!

Central station, 9:00 am
Farewell tour? Man, I didn't even know these guys were still together.

Sweeney Todd

I am a big Tim Burton fan, but hadn't seen 'Sweeney Todd' yet. Except for a few exceptions I don't like musicals, so I put off watching this flick until today. Can't say I particularly liked the singing. Loved the art direction, though the digital toolbox sort of presented the same London in Sherlock Holmes I recon. This is going to be one of the few Tim Burton films I probably will not watch a second time. Though, I didn't like what he did with Alice either. I am fonder of his old movies. Maybe he's lost his touch, or maybe I've just had enough of the same old, same old. Or maybe it is just time he starts to shoot an original script again and stop making all these adaptations.

Crumbled car

Eerste Constantijn Huygensstraat 2:30 pm
I am not really a car-person. But when I was young, we sometimes used to go to the tracks to watch some races. And every once in a while I enjoy the TV-programme 'Top Gear', which I think is realy funny.

Akinori Oishi

Yesterday, Japanese animator Akinori Oishi was working on a mural at the KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival. During dinner we talked briefly about it and his work. He seemed like a very nice guy. I am curious if his artwork will be finished today.

Gothic

Saw the film 'Gothic' (Ken Russell, 1986) the other night. Story of the night that Mary Shelley gave birth to the horror classic 'Frankenstein.' Disturbed drug induced games are played and ghost stories are told one rainy night at the mad Lord Byron's country estate. Personal horrors are revealed and the madness of the evening runs from sexual fantasy to fiercest nightmare. Mary finds herself drawn into the sick world of her lover Shelley and cousin Claire as Byron leads them all down the dark paths of their souls.

A very theatrical, somewhat dated film. Interesting, though. And now I am curious about the original Frankenstein novel. So that's something I'll have to check out in the near future.

Klik! Amsterdam Animation Festival

Kriterion, 9:00 pm
Last night the KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival started. Since I am one of the jury members I was invited to the opening. In the picture, festival director Dario van Vree welcomed everybody.

More about KLIK! on their website. And here's an article I wrote about the festival for Het Parool.

Curiously fake

Yesterday, my girlfriend and I visited De taart van mijn tante (My auntie's cake) to celebrate her birthday. When we walked back home, we came by this house with a curious contraption at the front, filled with fake birds and such. Except for the pigeon on top, that one's real... I think.

Merel after dark

Last night I went to the movies with the lovely Merel Barends. We saw 'The American' by Anton Corbijn in a special preview. Corbijn himself was present also and did a Q&A after the viewing. I thought the film was very good. I loved Clooney's dark and serious performance, the locations were full of atmosphere and the Italian actress who played the leading lady was stunning.
After we left the cinema, Merel and I went for a drink to discuss the film.

A video about the Q&A will follow later this week.

Frank Meeuwsen

This week I visited a lecture by Frank Meeuwsen at NPOX. The author of 'Bloghelden' talked about blogging (of course). At the end of the presentation he gave away three books to people who had interesting questions. I got a copy. I bet you want to know what my question was :)

By the way, I shot some footage of his lecture and am currently checking whether or not I can distil a Daily Webhead video from it.

A very dead pigeon

Overtoom, 3:00 pm
That's one very dead pigeon. I think it got run over by a car. I don't particularly like pigeons actually. There are a lot of sick ones in the city, carrying deceases and such. Still, this one looks very sad, being squashed and all.

Newspaper

Het Parool, this week
Although I am a regular Webhead and love blogging and publishing on the web, I still get a kick out of it when my articles are printed on paper, like this interview with Pieter van Oudheusden that was published Wednesday in Het Parool. If you want to read it, check it out here.

Psycho II

I've always been curious about the film Psycho II and finally got a chance to see this flick this week. I always wondered what the sequel to the classic Hitchcock-film would be like. I wasn't disappointed but hadn't expect much in the first place to be honest. In the end it got a bit silly, but it was nice to see a young and pretty stunning Meg Tilly in one of the lead roles.

This is what the story sort of is about (copypasted from IMDB)
Now declared legally sane, Norman Bates is released from a mental institution after spending 22 years in confinement over the protests of Marion Crane's sister Lila Loomis, who insists that he's still a killer and that the court's indifference to his victims by releasing him is a gross miscarriage of justice. Norman returns to his motel and the old Victorian mansion where his troubles started, and history predictably begins to repeat itself.

Gosh, do you think the sign is big enough?!

Prinshendrikkade, 5:00 pm
Man, I hate those big commercial billboards in the city.

Hanco Kolk Live @Manuscripta

Daily Webhead: Hanco Kolk Live from Mike's Webs on Vimeo.

See this post for background information.

Natasja & Hanco

Westergasfabriek, 5:30 pm
At the end of the first day of Manuscripta, Natasja, Kees, Hanco and I sat down and had some drinks. Here Natasja is probably talking about something important, but I can't remember what it was.

Girl in a bear suit

Westergasfabriek, 5:00 pm
Sunday I was at Manuscripta. It's the grand opening of the new book season. At the end of the day I met a fuzzy girl in a bear suit. She was handing out flyers. I asked her if it wasn't too hot for a bear suit, but she said it was fine. A week earlier at the Uitmarkt it was bad though: it was raining cats and dogs so the suit got quite soaked. Posing as a bear seems like a tough job.

Sherlock Holmes

Saturday night I finally had the time to watch 'Sherlock Holmes'. The Guy Ritchie film from 2009, with Robert Downey jr. as the world's greatest detective. It wasn't exactly what I had expected and seems a bit removed from the original creation if you as me. The film was entertaining nonetheless, with beautiful vistas of London in the Victorian age. Though the scene at Tower Bridge looked rather digital to me.

Bench sitter

Vondelpark, Amsterdam 10:00 am
A short moment of contemplation in the park... Weekends are excellent for a slacking and taking time for a good cup of coffee, the newspaper or a moment to let your brain reboot itself.

Vondelpark on Saturday morning

Vondelpark, Amsterdam 10:30 am

Yes, we beer can

Vondelpark, 10 am
It was a beautiful morning this morning, so I headed out to the park to enjoy the early sun. On my way I saw this lonely beer can sunbathing on the wall of the bridge looking over the park. I don't drink, but when I still did Heineken wasn't my favourite brand at all. Still, the green colour of the can matches perfectly with the moss on the stones.

The Last Man on Earth

Just watched the classic movie 'The Last Man on Earth'. Vincent Price stars in this akward Vampire picture based on the novel 'I am Legend'. When a disease turns all of humanity into the living dead, sort of a cross between vampires and zombies, the last man on earth becomes a reluctant vampire hunter.

Cruella de Bruijn

Last night I was watching the Madiwodovrijdagshow. Athlete Inge de Bruijn was one of the guests. Once upon a time she swam a lot and apparently was quite good at it: she's won some Olympic medals and stuff. I am not really into sports, so what do I know. I do know that nowadays so spends her time modelling. Anyway, while watching the screen as she got interviewed, I couldn't help noticing that she looked a bit like Cruella de Vil, but than the glossy Prada version. Maybe she's related to the character...

Change over

Trainstation Weesp, 5:50 pm
After a hard but interesting day at work I await my change over train to Amsterdam. In the evening I will be interviewing artist Han Hoogerbrugge for the news paper. Looking forward to our conversation.

Old school

Amsterdam, 8:45 am
Heading for work, I came across this banner for a student's union. It occurred to me that the design was a pastiche of old illustrations. Very 'Old School' :).

September 1st

Mediapark, Hilversum 1:00 pm
I was editing a video-interview with Jan Tromp most of the day. That's why I decided to take a stroll during lunch break. And had a relaxing time near the pond. I could sense the coming of autumn, which is always a great time. I am happy summer is almost over and it's September again.