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Walking the Red Light Districts |
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 In the Red Light Districts of Amsterdam you will find, on any given day, hundreds of girls offering sex for money. Nowhere else on earth are the women so straightforwardly on display, sitting sparingly attired on stools behind windows. Nowhere else except in the other main Dutch cities, because this conspicuous window prostitution is distinct to the Netherlands, as distinct as the habit that many of its residents have for living their lives behind open-curtained windows.
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| You might think that the three X’s which follow the name of the city of Amsterdam on its heraldic device, and which appear on nearly anything else belonging to the city, are appropriate, considering the free and relaxed reputation the city enjoys due to its unique position on soft drugs and fully legalized prostitution. [Read more] |
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The annual "What's this Zwarte Piet racist shit! " debate begins Nov 16
 The annual Zwarte Piet debate amongst shocked and self-righteous tourists regarding the mistaken notion that the character of Zwarte Piet is a racist slur upon Africans begins this Nov 16, when Sinterklaas "arrives from Spain" and makes his traditional parade throughout Amsterdam.
At 11:00, the bearded one's steamboat will depart from the Spaklerweg along the Amstel river towards the Netherlands Marine Museum Amsterdam, arriving at approximately 12.00 hrs. After having been banned welcomed by the mayor, Sinterklaas will mount his white horse and parade throughout the city, accompanied by nearly-in-tune marching bands and hundreds of the black-faced helpers known as Zwarte Pieten, who will terrorize many children by throwing small rock-hard projectiles at them, known as pepernoten, the small spiced cookies that turn up in your hair and pockets for months afterwards. |
Party like you're Anne Frank: Museum night 2008
The first Saturday night of November is almost upon us, and that means it's time for Museumnaacht (Museum Night).
Nearly 40 museums around Amsterdam pimp themselves out with fancy exterior lights and party atmospheres for this night, 7pm to 2am. Amongst the major museums participating are the all the usual suspects, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, Rembrandt House, Amsterdam Historical Museum, Tropen Museum, Film Museum, Theatre Museum, Oudekerk, Nieuwkerk, and Anne Frank House. Personally we're looking forward to the party atmosphere at Anne Frank House. Attic DJ's and live music?
The museums are all accessible via one ticket, which also handily includes public transport. You can buy tickets online through ticketservice.nl, and from the usual ticket sellers, such as GWK Travelex, VVV, etc. You cannot buy tickets at the museums themselves, and since there is a 10pm cutoff time for ticket purchase, it's best to purchase as early as possible. Since it's impossible to visit more than a few museums on this night, the ticket also includes one regular admission, good anytime. Official website here. |
Has the world economic crisis got you feeling down? Cheer yourself yourself up with flowers!
When you've lost your job, your home is about to be foreclosed upon, and you can't eat...buy flowers from Holland! That'll cheer you up. |
New view from a urinal??
Rick Steves, an especially annoying travel writer and U.S. Public Television travel show presenter apparently has never noticed (after a claimed 20 years of visits!) that one can view prostitutes while relieving oneself from a few conveniently placed outdoor urinals. Outdoor urinal offers new view of Amsterdam, claims the title. We'd guess he was taking his leak just in front of 43 Singel ('t Koggeschip) from the description—and flirting with the ladyboys that often inhabit the window next door to #43. |
Loathsome local paper unf*cked
It's unfortunate, but Amsterdam Weekly, the paper that deserved to die, will continue. At least for awhile. The paper has apparently convinced a new invester that it can succeed by continuing to do exactly the same thing that led it to its recent near-death experience. The new invester is the publisher of the Isreali version of Time Out. An Amsterdam version of Time Out will be launched at the end of this month—September. Expected development: The Time Out title will replace Amsterdam Weekly in the near future. |
North-South subway line delayed. Again.
Amsterdam's troubled new subway line suffers another setback after serious accident. Homes evacuated. Engineering fault to blame. Mayor Cohen "orders" construction halted. |
Spot the fakes!
Have you ever been trolling through escort websites, dating websites, or similar joints, looking at the pictures of the talent, thinking things like, "She's too good to be true", or, more simply "Fake!". TineEye, a new image search engine was developed to help identify suspect images, although the developers likely had more weighty concerns in mind—copyright infringement and the like. Upload or provide the URL of the suspect picture, it is then checked against 100's of millions of images, pixel by pixel, and the results are then returned to you with the URL's of matching pictures. The results of our sample uploads, although limited, were very satisfying. A browser plug-in is also available which allows you to simply right click any image to check it out. |
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