Photo of the Day (12-3-08)

by Jamie Rhein on

Here’s to hoping that this shot by Moody75 will bring me good luck. Actually, by the time you see this, dear Gadling readers, I may or may not have made it to Amsterdam in time to see canals such as this one. If it is not on time, I won’t be able to take my daughter to Anne Frank’s house or to the pancake place I want to return to. Instead, we will stay at the airport so we won’t miss our connection to Copenhagen.

When I was looking for my Photo of the Day choice, I zeroed in on Amsterdam since that is where I am hoping to be on this very day. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to be positive. Now, here is the oddest coincidence. Moody75 posted this exactly two years ago on December 3. Notice today’s date? December 3. This shot is exactly what I’m hoping we will see. Fingers crossed.

Send your photos to us at Gadling’s Flickr photo pool. Perhaps, one of your shots will bring us good luck.

Why’d Baarle-Hertog have to go and make things so complicated?

by Aaron Hotfelder on

The town of Baarle-Hertog, located on the Belgium-Netherlands border, is an interesting geographical anomaly. Most of the time, national borders are clearly identifiable lines– the US is on one side of the line, Mexico is on the other.

But in Baarle-Hertog, the border isn’t a line at all. As seen in the map, parts of the Netherlands are sprinkled throughout this mostly Belgian town like raisins in a bag of trail mix. This makes for some rather odd results, as the Financial Times recently noted: “Apparently, women are able to choose the nationality of their child depending on the location of the room in which they give birth.”

Wikipedia adds this charming tidbit: when Dutch restaurants used to have an earlier closing time than did their Belgian counterparts, restaurants on the border would simply move the tables to the Belgian side to stay open later.

[HT: BLDGBLOG]

Silent raves come to Madrid

by Abha Malpani on

I’ve never understood how the concept of a silent rave ever got popular. People in a club listening and dancing to their own music on headphones. The hook is around the fact that you can dance to whatever music you want in a social environment.

How is this fun? Why wouldn’t you just do the same at home? It’s a social thing, but when do you talk? On drink breaks?

The concept originated in the Netherlands some years ago under the notion of “going wild in silence”, and ever since has been floating around Europe. A couple of months ago, Union Square in New York held a huge “Silent Disco“, apparently the first ever in New York.

In Madrid, it’s come on a small scale. Organized by a youth center at their premises, I can’t imagine it to attract too large of a crowd, but then again, it’s Madrid — you just don’t know.

According to the CNN, the DJ’s involved in introducing the concept say that they are confident that in the ever changing world of clubbing, it’s better to be seen than heard. Hmmm.

I’d go to watch, but I doubt you can get away with just being a spectator to this silliness. Maybe I’ll just go and join in.

Dutch say no to tobacco, yes to cannabis

by Aaron Hotfelder on

The Netherlands has long been known as one of the most tolerant countries in the world. But as of July 1, that famous live-and-let-live attitude will no longer extend to tobacco. That’s the day a ban on smoking in public places of employment takes effect in the Netherlands. Well, not all smoking.

Yes, while smoking tobacco in public is soon to be verboten, smoking a joint (that’s a “marijuana cigarette” for you squares) will remain legal in the Netherlands. But, as this article notes, Dutch potheads don’t feel too lucky that their drug of choice is still legal. That’s because many of them cut their joints with tobacco.

The Dutch government is not prohibiting marijuana smokers from rolling “pure” joints, and it’s likely that many smokers who had previously mixed marijuana and tobacco will switch to smoking “pure.” Interestingly, there’s not yet a way for government inspectors to determine whether a joint is “pure” or cut with tobacco (other than testing it themselves, I suppose.)

Smoking tobacco will still be permitted inside the famous Dutch coffee shops, but only in separate rooms without employees, which many shop owners say they can’t afford to provide.

More here.

THE WORLD’S DIRTIEST CITIES:

UNESCO names Amsterdam new World Book Capital

by Anna Brones on

Book lovers and aficionados: if Amsterdam wasn’t on your travel plans before, you might want to add it. On April 23, UNESCO named Amsterdam the World Book Capital. The city will hold the title until April 2009, and in that time hopes to inspire dialog and spark debate about the freedom of expression.

Here are some of the World Book Capital’s upcoming events that just might be of interest:

May 18: Amsterdam International Literary Festival. With over 1,000 stalls this is Europe’s largest book market held in the streets of Amsterdam.

April 23 – June 23: Amsterdam in Words. An exhibition with portraits of 60 authors and quotes from their work that relates to a street, park or site in the city.

June 1 – September 8: Poetry in the Park. Two days of poetry in ten of Amsterdam’s parks, beginning with Vondelpark and ending with Westerpark.

I guess it’s time to hit the Amsterdam books.