the fall

last days heavy rain and the chilly wind clearly indicate the end of summer here, so what better time to start listening to some fall music from Canada, such as Wolf Parade and their great third studio album 'Expo 86', the name speaks for itself, wave all over, but quite contemporary too

I was hiding in the mountains

back in Amsterdam, I've already begun to miss a somewhat curvier landscape again

this is how I imagine summer in sweden

beautiful video from the beautiful fever ray from her album 'fever ray'
check out the videos for the songs 'seven' and 'if I had a heart' too

M.I.A.

as her new and third album 'Maya'is out now, I remembered watching this video some time ago:



Despite all the talk about her credibility, suspicious radical chic, politics and popculture in general, i like her, her music and the unique visual universe she creates. I won't dive into the debates circling around the video to her song 'born free' though, simply because I still haven't made my mind up, whether I like it or not.
Finally, there's always been a little bit of politics in pop, the two spheres have been influencing each other quite some time now. And it can do no harm if the one or the other asks him/herself suddenly 'Where exactly is Sri Lanka anyway, what is going on there and what's a tamil tiger?'

fight the heat

why not fight the heat by browsing through the newest A/W 2010 collections such as topshop

the bright side project

Today I stumbled across this lovely site and blog called 'The Blah Blah Blahg' from Miss B, calling herself 'a dilettante extraordinairre'. The beautiful sites, which she calls 'the sunniest place on the internet' feature 'The Bright Side Project'.

That's a website dedicated to daily giveaways. Each day they feature a brand or product they think will add a little sunshine in your life. Each post details what they are giving away for the day. And there are really sweet and beautiful things among the daily treats.


('Handstitched Happiness' from Moxiedoll's Shop on Etsy)

hairdo

Since the week is practically over and I'm walking towards the weekend, I'm facing hair problems, great, well being female, this is a well known challenge in summertime and in times of heat waves, but the web has an answer to every question, as we all know, so I found this, via the lovely and most professional, well they are doing it professionally, fashion and lifestyle blog in whole Germany. Hair problem solved, day saved.

easy on the eye

I love animation films, doesn't matter if they are for kids or for growns ups, love them anyway. I stumbled across this one last week, the trailer is beautifully made, the pictures are poetic and elegant and you are captivated right away. I really liked 'the triplettes de belleville' too. Can't wait to get it.

summer melancholy

... other people may just love summer, the long days, the ice cream, the swimming pools, ok, I love all that too, but in general the bright sun turns me mysteriously melancholic, well maybe it's the sunglasses you are forced to wear, or the fact that the heat is slowing you down automatically ...

Baja Sessions

in light of current temperatures, it's more than adequate to recommend Chris Isaak's Baja Sessions as a soundtrack for sunny and slightly melancholic days

summer finally arrived

it's hot, the sun is burning down on the netherlands, I'm trying to work but in my head only pictures of beaches pop up

off into the weekend with some music

incredibly sweet video for jamie t's song 'emily's heart' from his second album 'kings and queens'. He's a sweet one too, and very talented.

my Shanghai

apart from all the Expo Hype and talk of modernization and westernization, which is surely happening there, Shanghai, being the most western city in mainland China (Hong Kong is something different) is for me still a quite unique place, made of diversity and the contrast between the clichés old an new, rich and poor, singing and mahjong playing elderly in the parks and shopping teenagers constantly texting on their smartphones. I lived there some years and it's funny how newspaper articles about spitting and pushing people bring back sweet memories. 

Shanghai Expo 2010 and the Dutch Happy Street

(picture)

Someone at the dutch expo team must have looked the newly created and desired chinese middleclass consumer right in the middle of his/her soul. The very ingenious  and funny and very ugly Pavillion seems to be a big hit among the visitors. But i dare say the ironic part of it won't be much recognized among the chinese visitors.

About Amsterdam

Although I don't want to write an expat-blog, or an Amsterdam-blog, this charming city I'm currently learning to call home will of course sometimes pop up here.
Living in a new country and city is always a challenge and for me, expat-blogs ar quite helpful when you are still in limbo between feeling like a tourist and not really being one anymore.Well, I really liked the blog 'Living Abroad', where the charming Canadian Heather lets us being a part of her adventures abroad. I also found a collection of blogs here and can recommend these blogs too.

let's start with a movie

... go and watch it, director Oren Moverman made a strong anti-war statement here. The movie describes the horror of war without actually showing it in quiet and frightening pictures. The extremely and very great actors Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Steve Buscemi and Samantha Morton explain the terror of having been to a very dark place and not being able to return back into some kind of light - or home.