Welcome to my Blog!
I hope to share here my irrepressible thoughts on news, music, books, arts and such like. In general these will be items, events and issues which I feel have no place on my website (which focusses on aviation history and my travel photography).

The item immediately below this would be the latest posting.

Anybody, providing he knows how to be amusing, has the right to talk about himself. - Charles Baudelaire
Esse est percipi (To be is to be perceived) - Bishop George Berkeley

In 2013 I started a series of photo albums on Blurb.com, named '36Exp' (a subject adressed in 36 exposures, a reference to the exposures on most common rolls of 35 mm film: 12, 24 & 36.). The books can be ordered directly from the Blurb.com website.
http://www.blurb.com/user/ruudleeuw

CURRENT BLOG

Charles Bukowski is one of America's best-known contemporary writers of poetry and prose, and many would claim its most influential and imitated poet.
He was born in Adernach, Germany to an American soldier father and a German mother in 1920, and brought to the States at the age of 3.
He was raised in Los Angeles and lived there for 50 years.
Bukowski published his first story in 1944 when he was 24 and began writing poetry at the age of 35. He died in San Pedro,CA om 9Mar1994 at the age of 73 (shortly after completing his last novel, Pulp)
During his lifetime he published more than 45 books of poetry and prose.
His most recent books are the posthumous editions of Betting on the Muse: Poems & Stories (1996), Bone Palace Ballet: New Poems (1997), and The Captain Is Out To Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship (1998) which is illustrated by Robert Crumb.
All of his books have now been published in translation in over a dozen languages and his worldwide popularity remains undeminished. In the years to come Black Sparrow will publish additional volunes of previously uncollected poetry and letters.
-info from 'Dangling in the Tournefortia', published Black Sparrow Press, Santa Rosa, 1998.

"This poetry book is more for the fanatic than the connoisseur of Bukowski’s work. It is sandwiched amongst his fire in the belly writing of Burning in Water, Drowning in Frame (1974), Love Is a Dog from Hell (1977) and his intense and diverse philosophical ruminations found in War All the Time (1984) and The Last Night of the Earth Poems (1992). Dangling in the Tournefortia was published when Bukowski was fifty-nine years old and his reputation was clearly established and growing exponentially."
http://georgedanderson.blogspot.com/2011/10/book-review-charles-bukowski-dangling.html

WIKIPEDIA

Only when I had bought the various Eric Clapton's Guitarfestival 'Crossroads' dvd's (2004, 2007, 2010), I became acquainted, and fascinated, with this slide guitar wizard, Sonny Landreth.
'Levee Town, Expanded Edition', became the first cd I bought of his music; it is in every way the perfect album: music, photography on this nicely produced album (reminded me of a Sally Mann's photobook I recently received as a gift, but the evocative photography here is by Jack Spencer) and the booklet with lyrics is why we buy & treasure albums and pity the people who will limit their experience by only downloading this great music.

'Levee Town' has the following artists performing:
Sonny Landreth - guitars & vocals, David Ranson - bass, Michael Organ - drums, Steve Conn - keyboards.
The following artists contribute: Stephen Bruton, Michael Doucet, John Hiatt, Steve Howard, Danny Kimball, Marce Lacouture, Joe Mouton, Herb Pedersen, Bonnie Raitt, Jon Smith, Erroll Verret, Jennifer Warnes.

From www.popmatters.com:
"When Sonny Landreth first released Levee Town in 2000, the general public perceived Louisiana bayou country as swampland with gators, peopled by colorful backwoods characters that ate spicy foods, liked to party, and engaged in weird voodoo practices. Landreth played off that view. He wrote songs that fit in with those observations rather than challenged them.
Landreth’s slide guitar playing is the star of the record. While the songwriting ranges from adequate to quite clever, without Landreth’s wondrous accompaniment, the album would be much less impressive. He turns the Zydeco-based music here into something that reveals the depth and pathos of the culture, while simultaneously making dance music that makes one want to celebrate. The two instrumentals, “Spider-Gris” and “Z. Rider”, are among the best tunes on the disc because Landreth is able to say more with his fingers than his vocals. That’s not meant to disparage his voice or lyrics, just to laud his instrumental talents."

Sonny Landreth was born in Canton, Mississippi, but soon after, his family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, before settling in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Landreth is best known for his slide playing, having developed a technique where he also frets notes and plays chords and chord fragments behind the slide while he plays. Landreth plays with the slide on his little finger, so that his other fingers have more room to fret behind the slide. He's also known for his right-hand technique, which involves tapping, slapping, and picking strings, using all of the fingers on his right hand.
When he is not touring and performing, he resides in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. [-Wikipedia]

I am sure I will buy more of his music and hope to see him play live some day.

www.sonnylandreth.com
WIKIPEDIA

Doing away with a bit of history... I subscribed to Scramble magazine from 1982 - 2006; ceased my subscription because I found other sources of information for my particular interest in aviation and had no interest in the military information (often over 50%) in this magazine.
Concluded I never consulted the old editions so out they go today, into the paper recycling bin!
www.scramble.nl

The yearly publication of the new Snoecks, 2012, was worth the wait!
Some 550 pages brimming with literature, short stories, art, architecture and a wide range of photography subjects.
Yves Marchand & Romaine Meffre documented the ruïnes of Detroit, an awe-inspiring report (above photo, lower half) and I'll try to see more of it.
Mark Laita travelled through 48 US States, each portrait representing a state; impressive.
The list of '100 best books in Literature' will keep me shopping for a while..

www.snoecks.be

Ray Bonneville played the Paradiso in Amsterdam (Netherlands) on 04Dec11. He was promoting his latest CD, Bad Man's Blood.
I had been very much looking forward to seeing this singer/songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player perform as previous years I couldn't make it to any of his gigs.
Ray's parents moved the family from French Canada when he was young to the US, where he got acqainted with the blues - presently he lives in Austin,TX). He plays the blues as thick as the Big Muddy, I love it!

He can be classified as a unique guitarplayer (described as “loose, darkly funky vibe” by All Music Guide - listen to him on the YouTube links below), a style all his own; he has performed with such blues luminaries as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, and Robert Cray. In recent years he's become a fixture in the Americana scene, since moving to Texas, becoming one of the go-to session players for artists like Ray Wylie Hubbard, Mary Gauthier and Eliza Gilkyson.

His Red House release 'Goin’ By Feel' was named one of the best CD’s of 2008 by DownBeat Magazine and featured the Americana hit 'I Am the Big Easy'; this tour he's promoting his latest: 'Bad Man's Blood'.
Following the success of his digital single 'Mississippi' (about the flooding of the Mississippi River - link below), Ray released recently his new full-length album 'Bad Man’s Blood'. Like this summer’s single, the new songs have a down and dirty quality, capturing the hardships of every day life.

Born in French Canada and raised in the United States, he writes from his experience as an immigrant, Vietnam War vet, taxi driver and bush pilot, drawing inspiration from the many places he has called home—Montreal, New Orleans, Colorado, Arkansas, Alaska, Boston, Seattle and Paris, France. He now lives in Austin,TX.

http://raybonneville.com
My photos of this performance HERE..
Videos on YouTube: Blonde of Mine - I Am The Big Easy - Mississippi

Gurf Morlix promoting his CD 'Blaze Foley's 113th Wet Dream', honouring this Texan singer/songwriter; this was at Q-bus (a.k.a. Muziekhuis.nl) in Leiden,Netherlands. And he was also promoting Kevin Triplett's documentary 'Duct Tape Messiah' about Blaze, who was murdered in 1989; Mr Morlix knew Blaze Foley well and contributed to this fascinating documentary.

www.GurfMorlix.com
www.blazefoleymovie.com
Photos of this performance
YouTube': Oh Darlin' and Wouldn't That Be Nice

'Tsarina Esra' is a handcrafted beer, a fine dark ale brewed by Dutch brewery 'DE MOLEN' (The mill).
Ingredients include water, pils, wheat and cara barley malts, chocolate, bitter hops and it has been treated with wood chips soaked in 40 year old cognac!

Described as a good Baltic Porter, with a rich taste and long roasted range; touches of chocolate and coffee, rather smooth with an oily bitter and creamy finish.
The alcohol taste is very well masked.
The thick body, with low carbonation, is best enjoyed sipping.

beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/
www.brouwerijdemolen.nl/

Click on above thumbnail for larger image

Simon Carmiggelt had a unique, wry sort of pen he wrote his observations with. Perhaps 'wry' is even too strong a word for his writing, because there is a distinct tenderness in his reports too. His face matches his writing very well.
The title of this book translates as 'One could have a laugh in the past', implying there is no fun in today at all, just hard going. He gets around, mainly in Amsterdam (he doesn't need to travel the world to meet interesting people), and reports what people tell him or what impressions befall him.

First print of this book was in 1977; this edition is an 8th print, produced in 1978.

The name 'Carmiggelt' stems from Scottish, Carmichael. My wife's family is linked to the Carmiggelts..

Wikipedia on Simon Carmiggelt

Gurf Morlix was in Amsterdam promoting the film documentary on Blaze Foley, 'Duct Tape Messiah'.
The man is a wizard: a singer/songwriter, record producer of many of the greatest singers, while also touring and playing all over the world!

LINKS:
Nathan Hamilton website
Nathan Hamilton blog
Michael Fracsso website
Gurf Morlix website
Gurf Morlix Wikipedia
Gurf Morlix 'Blaze Foley Project'
My photos of the 21Nov11 Cinetone AMsterdam concert on Flickr.com
YouTube of this gig, Nathan Hamilton with '4 Directions' and 'Six Black Birds'
YouTube of this gig, Gurf Morlix with 'Cold, Cold World'
Music available from LuckyDice.nl and CdBaby.com

Joris Luyendijk graduated from Gemeentelijk Gymnasium Hilversum (Netherlands) and studied Political Science, History, Arabic and Religious Anthropology in Amsterdam(NL), Kansas(exact location not specified;USA) and Caïro(Egypte).
During his stay in Caïro, in 1995, he wrote a book ('Een goede man slaat soms zijn vrouw', transl.: 'A good man sometimes beats his wife') as well as completed advanced studies (and a degree) in Religious Anthropology, focussing on the Arabic society.
After this, 1998 - 2003, he became a correspondent for a Dutch newspaper, 'de Volkskrant' as well as Dutch radio ('Radio 1') from Caïro, later Beirut, followed by East-Jerusalem; he later changed to 'NRC Handelsblad' (newspaper) and the 'N.O.S.' (Dutch television).
In march 2001 Luyendijk published 'Een tipje van de sluier' (transl.: 'A tip from the veil'), identifying a connection between islam and terrorism before becoming a common subject of discussion; the book did not become a success until events of 'Nine-Eleven' brought the issue to everybody's attentention.

In 2003 Luyendijk returned to Amsterdam and published in 2006 a book detailing his experiences as a journalist in the Middle East: 'Het zijn net mensen' (transl.: They are just like people'); the book expands on the impossibility of reliable, objective reporting about (political) events in the Middle East.
The problems he describes details the consequences of lack of freedom of speech while obtaining data and reports in countries ruled by dictators as well as the influences of propaganda. Joris Luyendijk was awarded in 2006 the Dick Scherpenzeel-award and also in 2006 he was proclaimed Journalist of the Year.

Luyendijk has a clear and logic way of describing his findings, emotions and analyses, often with a touch of humor to lighten the load. For it is a grim message he reports in this book; not only is a solution to the politics involved a long way off, but we also have to be aware that the media reports that reach us often are infiltrated by propaganda and information is presented to the public under the influences of 'producer - consumer relations'.
Wonderful reading, greatly recommended!

Joris Luyendijk, his website (in Dutch)
Wikipedia: Joris Luyendijk (EN)

Mauro is an 18 years old kid who has been living in The Netherlands for the past 10 years. The Dutch, who claimed for generations to have embraced the multi ethnic society, have a failed immigrations system which kept this boy for 10 years waiting for a residential permit.
Finally it arrived, but alas in the form of a denial. Mauro has been denied to continue his studies and his life here: he is to return to.. Angola!
Minister Leers shrugs his human responsibility in favour of agreements between governing parties, stating 'he is only an instrument' and upholds the decision. This reeks of 'befehl ist befehl' the nazis were fond of while committing atrocious war crimes.
The insignificant Dutch who are so fond of to reminding the Chinese of Human Rights, who fought with NATO forces in Afghanistan and for the freedom of Libya, who condemned Apartheid in South Africa..

No excuse for a failed immigration board who kept this boy waiting through his formative years. No historic conscience for decades of profitable slave trade so efficiently and expediently performed by the Dutch during the 16th and 17th century.

Mauro has got to go.
Leers: "Befehl ist befehl; Heil Wilders!"

I think this is the final drop for me, I have lost all faith in the Dutch governmental system. It is only fitting to conclude in these times of economic crisis that the Dutch government has no credit left with me, they are morally bankrupt.

Painted my Inuksuk (Inukshuk) today and put it in its position.
These stone landmarks are used by Inuits and other people of the Arctic region of North America and can now be found in my garden too.
The inuksuk may have been used for navigation, as a point of reference, a marker for travel routes, fishing places, camps, hunting grounds, places of veneration, drift fences used in hunting or as a food cache.
For me it is merely a decoration (never so inebriated I would need directions in my own garden), so I added some colour.
[Wikipedia. more..]

Petur P Johnson wrote me: "We have similar things in Iceland. they are called 'vörður' and were used for marking mountain paths and trails; they were very useful when walking across vast lava fields in low cloud or fog!"