I just saw this on 22 words and totally resonated with the sentiment.

I thought about trying to create a "Looks Like... Feels Like..." parallel for bicycling in the Amsterdam rain, since we're finally getting our November weather here in December. My version probably would have been a pretty tame view from my bike's handlebars in a steady, gray rain -- contrasted with a view from underneath the Niagra Falls... But honestly, I was too lazy to put it together, too comfortable here inside with my computer and my slippers. So I didn't do it. Don't you know what that weather feels like out there?!? :-)

I just discovered the work of Marius van Dokkum this morning, while shopping for greeting cards. I was surprised and delighted to become acquainted with his oeuvre. He's got a unmistakable touch of vintage Norman Rockwell -- but with a distinctly Dutch, uniquely 21st-Century twist.

His subject matter is extremely varied, but there seems to be a lot of intriguing religious imagery... as well as some unusual social commentary.

I don't know how professional art critics would think of his work -- and I don't know if his art is even all that popular here within the Netherlands -- but I certainly found it enjoyable.

To mark the celebration of the Netherlands' Memorial Day / Liberation Day, the city of Amsterdam recently set up a website to illustrate the way that the Second World War affected the Jewish households of Amsterdam -- or Joodse Huizen. Included on this website is the map above, which shows the Jewish population of Amsterdam at the beginning of the Second World War.  You see that exceptionally-dark section of the map shaped like a train speeding southwest? That's our neighborhood. It's pretty crazy to consider the history of what's happened in Europe within the last 100 years, and this website really helps to bring some of the stories of Amsterdam to life.

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Amber van Schooneveld is an accomplished writer and editor who blogs at Clever Phrase Here. Her posts cover a wide range of topics -- everything from personal/family updates to social commentary -- but no matter what the subject material may be, I always find her thoughts to be clear and refreshing. This is particularly so in a recent post called Crashing the Dawn Treader and the Great Fallacy of Our Age, which was co-written with her husband, Mike. This post starts out as a film critique about "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and snowballs into a critique of our society's broader trends towards "The Gospel of Self." It's a bit of a long piece, but I think it's so accurate and poignant that it's worth the read.

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From time to time, I use this space to point out a particular satellite of the blogosphere which has recently caught my attention... For the last several months (maybe even a year or so now), I've been particularly captivated by a site called The Big Picture -- which describes itself as follows:

...The Big Picture is a photo blog for the Boston Globe/boston.com, entries are posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday by Alan Taylor. Inspired by publications like Life Magazine (of old), National Geographic, and online experiences like MSNBC.com's Picture Stories galleries and Brian Storm's MediaStorm, The Big Picture is intended to highlight high-quality, amazing imagery - with a focus on current events, lesser-known stories and, well, just about anything that comes across the wire that looks really interesting. ...

Amsterdam Asp (my old blog)

Elliot says... (Elliot Asp)