May 30, 2004
hanging by a thread

textile statue, theater de vest, alkmaar

this is how she feels, give or take a grimace and a tear.
she needs to take a step backward, or at least aside, to look beyond the countless insignificant holes in her happiness, and focus on the texture in-between, because that
is what keeps the emptiness from taking over.

Posted by lynn at 02:44 PM
May 27, 2004
the power of two

elderly couple, medemblik

they settle, crooked and companiable, into the slope of the dike, unfolding, adjusting, balancing, and watching the endless water.
they have more yesterdays than they have tomorrows.
they have more certainties than they have doubts.
it has been a long, fine journey together, to this small remaining stretch of sea, and
they are determined to enjoy the view.

Posted by lynn at 01:44 PM
May 25, 2004
embarkation

mezzanine, café papeneiland, amsterdam

dreams are meant to be pursued and realized, and renee is following hers. she is on
her way to prague; the long-anticipated adventure has begun.
it was of dreams and adventure and anticipation that we spoke - a few months back, though it seems like yesterday - sitting in café papeneiland until everyone but the accordionist had disappeared into the cold february night.
she's in my thoughts. i wish her - and hers - the best of luck, and as much happiness
as they can possibly embrace.

Posted by lynn at 09:07 PM
May 23, 2004
decisions, decisions

takeaway tea, van baerlestraat, amsterdam

when sam asked me to contribute a guest-photo to daily dose of imagery (i'm a "local" too, you see, but i've strayed) during his trip home to iran, i was numbed by indecision. i am notoriously uncertain at the best of times, and i made life for my family, and my colleagues, and for rachel, quite tedious indeed: "this one? maybe this one? or, no, no..."
i sent him TWO: the one that's up now, and this one. i saw them both as characteristically amsterdam. the warehouse, modest and stately, soars (this is a TALL building for the city centre), and that rainbow flag says "acceptance" to me; the teabag-on-a-bicycle is whimsical and a bit weird...and two-wheeled, which is also typical in its own way.
sam - i hope his holidays are very happy! - picked.
i am quite simply honoured to be in the company i'm in.

and, over at la*laland: green flowers at the albert cuyp market.

Posted by lynn at 07:07 PM
May 20, 2004
headed heavenward

folding chairs, albert cuyp market, amsterdam

"it's a sure sign of summer if the chair gets up when you do."
- walter winchell (1897 - 1972)

today is the first day of the ascension day long weekend here (for most people, but, alas, not for me) and pleasant weather has been predicted. hopefully everyone will find time to tilt his face toward the sun and simply savour.

Posted by lynn at 12:49 PM
May 18, 2004
the eye of the beholder

river view, amsterdam

in my favourite newspaper, "het parool", a centrefold article last saturday focussed on what it considered to be the 25 "ugliest buildings in amsterdam".
many of the choices: well, yes.
but the nemo? the nemo? it's a bit eccentric, granted, but its green sweep upward from the river is stunning, and unique.
well, then: MY office building? i felt - to be honest - slightly affronted. it may not be architecturally climactic, but it spans the space between rails and river in an unassuming, uncluttered way, and those mirrored surfaces do their very best to echo the skies and the water. on a rainy day, it glistens grey; on a bright one, it glows soft and sunny.
i am, i suppose, begging to differ.
but these are matters of taste, and i'm allowed.

Posted by lynn at 10:02 PM
May 15, 2004
please mr. postman

NO! no advertising, and no moronic free newspapers EITHER!!, spuistraaat, amsterdam

the dutch are a tolerant people. confront them with all manner of "alternative" behaviour and they will say: "whyever not?"
(i do not always agree with this philosophy, i must confess. i mutter, for instance, on the early-morning train, sleepy, mellow, and seated next to an idiot with his walkman at guaranteed-deafness-level: "whyEVER?")
but do not slide unsolicited advertising into their mailboxes: it is unacceptable, and they will not be pleased.

Posted by lynn at 09:27 PM
May 11, 2004
yesterday and years ago

three sisters, rembrandtplein, amsterdam

time has rounded the angry edges, and soothed their reluctant reunion with a gentler, more indulgent light.
in this place, this familiar place - a table, two glasses and a few flown and fraught years between them - they discover that they can listen after all: that, despite differences honest and deep, they can actually hear each other's words.

Posted by lynn at 10:13 PM
May 09, 2004
mamma mia

high-school students, museumplein, amsterdam

it's (happy!) mothers' day today, and i suggested to my son - in jest, of course - that this might be a fitting acknowledgement of all the time and love and effort i've put into helping him become the young adult he is: "MOM ANGEL" scrawled splendidly across his jeans.
needless to say, he didn't rush off in search of a pen.

Posted by lynn at 06:47 PM
May 07, 2004
your wish is my command

little sign, vijzelstraat, amsterdam

"anyone who uses the phrase 'easy as taking candy from a baby' has never tried taking candy from a baby."
- unknown

as i stood waiting for an errant cloud to soften the shadows in the doorway, a young woman emerged from the building and introduced herself.
"i'm the artist," she said with visible pride. we shook hands; she unlocked her bicycle and headed off towards the amstel.
only when she was almost out of sight, and i read beyond the glitter, did i wish that i had asked her what on earth it MEANT.

Posted by lynn at 08:57 AM
May 03, 2004
next door down

a wandering photographer, antwerp

this place, these "low lands", should feel - to a canadian like me - cramped and claustrophobic, but i am accustomed after all these years, and see it this way:
where else can you wake up in the morning, hop on a train, have lunch with a friend in another country, stroll streets where the architecture and the atmosphere and even the cobblestones are distinctly "foreign", sample sidewalk cafés and art galleries, share a slightly surrealistic meal, and then be back home in your own bed before midnight?

Posted by lynn at 12:30 PM






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recent entries
hanging by a thread
the power of two
embarkation
decisions, decisions
headed heavenward
the eye of the beholder
please mr. postman
yesterday and years ago
mamma mia
your wish is my command