On Travel - Alain de Botton / FT (Fri 14 Aug 2015)

A Globe and an Atlas of the World - Amsterdam (Mon 19 Aug 2013)

Alain de Botton on Travel:

All of us have equivalents. Things we care about that aren’t mentioned anywhere. Part of growing up, and learning to travel well, means daring to take our own interests a bit more seriously.

via Alain de Botton on why we travel by Alain de Botton.

On Love, Inspiration and Purpose - Khalik Allah (Fri 01 Aug 2014)

Love Foundation - Amsterdam (Tue 20 Aug 2013)
Khalik Allah (*) responds to the following question On Inspiration (*) and purpose (*):

Question: how did you find your purpose (*)? how did you know? how do you tap into that thing that inspires (*) you deep within and never leaves? thank you. Bless

Khalik Allah (*): When you’re in love (*) you’re inspired (*). Love (*) is magnetic. If I love photography (*) then I’m just gonna keep being with it. If you wanna consistently remain inspired (*) then you gotta have a purpose (*) bigger than photography (*), and then do it for that purpose (*).

via Tumblr (*) by Khalik Allah (*).

Obviously applicable to everything in our lives. Nice to see it so clearly abstracted and stated. Thanks Khalik (*).

On not being a Team - Nigel Risner (Fri 27 Jun 2014)

Intersection - Amsterdam (Tue 19 Aug 2013)
Nigel Risner (*) writes on not being a Team (*):

The reason most mergers do not work is because you bring two teams (*) together who do not hold the same values, who do not understand (*) the systems in place but are put together because somebody thinks it might work.

via TEAMWORK - ON & OFF THE PITCH (*) by Nigel Risner (*).

On Perceptions (7 years on) - Drew Ginn (Thu 03 Apr 2014)

Untitled - Amsterdam (Tue 20 Aug 2014)
Drew Ginn (*) writes On Perceptions (*):

Simply results (*) and perceptions (*) of performances (*) stick.. Good or bad ones last and seem to require more contrasting ones to change.

via twitter (*) by Drew Ginn (*).

I know exactly about this - one perceived bad performance (*), without understanding (*) the why (*), will never be recovered from. The good ones are never noticed (*) or acknowledged (*) or are dismissed as luck (*) or a fluke (*).

Just some of my experiences over the years. But, that is what makes it character building and one the reasons I keep doing what I do. Failure (*) drives success (*), if you are tenacious (*) and can forgive (*). The journey continues no matter what ...

On Photography - The Eye, Heart and Mind - Streetshooter (Sat 15 Feb 2014)

Heart - Amsterdam (Tue 20 Aug 2013)
Streetshooter (*) writes On Photography (*):

There exist many photos out there waiting to be born. Within those photos lives many that are just beautiful images that are for you to add to the definition of your self. If you can’t find them it is your fault and not theirs. If you focus on your Eye (*), Heart (*) and mind (*) then out there are those photos waiting for you. If you don’t focus on your Eye, Heart and Mind, those images are still out there but you won’t find them because someone else will..

via February 15th, 2014 ….. Defining The Self Thru Your Photos ….. Part 3 (*) by Streetshooter (*).

On Letting Go - Jeremy Rolleston (Mon 13 Jan 2014)

Portrait - Amsterdam (Tue 20 Aug 2013)
Jeremy Rolleston (*) writes On Letting Go (*):

Give up the past (*). We’ve all been hurt, we all [..] made mistakes (*), we’ve all had challenges (*) and faced our own battles (*). But don’t let your past define your future (*). Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but they don’t define our future – we are responsible for who we become and for our own happiness (*).

via Are you happy ? … 10 things to give-up in exchange for happiness (*) by Jeremy Rolleston (*).

Street Painting - Amsterdam (Tue 20 Aug 2013)

Street Painting - Amsterdam (Tue 20 Aug 2013)
Just took a random look through some of the photos from the trip (*) that I uploaded to my iPad while on the road.

I remember this moment and time, and it caught my eye just now skimming throughout the photos. I like it as there is a lot going on in quiet way, and in some ways reminds me of the time here (*) two years earlier in New York City.

Played around with it in Snapseed and came up with the following details (I like to crop - it is fun to see what is in a photo). Here they are:
Street Painting Detail - Amsterdam (Tue 20 Aug 2013)
Street Painting Detail - Amsterdam (Tue 20 Aug 2013)
Street Painting - Closer and Stronger Crop - Amsterdam (Tue 20 Aug 2013)

On Disrespect, Inspiration and Photography - Gerhard Steidl / invisiblephotographer (Wed 06 Nov 2013)

Untitled - Amsterdam (Tue 20 Aug 2013)
Gerhard Steidl (*) writes On Photography (*):

Disrespect your own photographs in order to create something new and inspiring (*).

via Disrepect you own photos (*) by invisiblephotographer (*).

On Composition - The Art of Thinking Clearly / Ralph Dobelli (Aug 2013)

Gaudi's Score - a model of how the Sagrada Famillia ceilings were created - Sagrada Famillia (Thu Aug 2013)
Rolf Dobelli (*) writes On Composition (*):

The real miracle of music is, after all, the composition: the creation of sounds, moods and rhythms where previously only a blank sheet lay.

via The Art of Thinking Clearly (*) by Rolf Dobelli (*).

Bought this Book, The Art of Thinking Clearly (*), on a whim at Schiphol Airport (*) in Amsterdam. A fantastic read with lots of interesting observations on life and our decision making processes. Highly recommended.

On Maps - Seth Godin (Mon 19 Aug 2013)

Australia - Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal / Amsterdam (Tue 20 Aug 2013)
Seth Godin (*) writes On Maps (*):

maps are no good if you haven't decided to go somewhere new.

via Q&A: The 14 revolutionary trends and the Meatball Sundae (*).

Che Guevara (2 of 2) - Amsterdam Centraal Station (Tue 20 Aug 2013)

Che Guevara (*) (2 of 2) - Amsterdam Centraal Station (Tue 20 Aug 2013)
A few moments later (*).

Che Guevara (1 of 2) - Amsterdam Centraal Station (Tue 20 Aug 2013)

Che Guevara (*) (1 of 2) - Amsterdam Centraal Station (Tue 20 Aug 2013)

Hello from Amsterdam - The IT Crowd - Series 1 - Episode 1 (Yesterday's Jam)

The IT Crowd - Series 1 - Episode 1 (Yesterday's Jam) - YouTube (*) Amsterdam / Netherlands (Wed 21 Aug 2013)
We arrived in Amsterdam on Monday and we have a lovely apartment on the southern side of the U area near the Museum Park. It overlooks a canal and I got lucky booking this apartment. For some reason I had trouble making the accommodation arrangements here and it was only booked in Lisbon last week, while all the others were booked back in Australia some time ago.

When I think of Amsterdam I always think of this little Amsterdam Story from the first episode of The IT Crowd - Yesterday's Jam. It was mid 2006 when we saw this episode on a Wed night on the ABC. It was hilarious and we did not miss an episode from Series 1 and 2. They were all recorded on my first (and best) PVR and we would often watch an episode when nothing else was on. We never tired of it and each time we watched a show, we would laugh as much as the first time we saw it. In fact, we would pick up the subtle moments in each scene that made the scene even funnier.

This is the first of so many fantastic scenes from the show. We often roll out many a punch line when we face a situation that makes us think of the show. Hope it makes you laugh as much as it did for Jo and I on ours arrival in Amsterdam on Monday.

Now to find a Fair. I told everyone I will pay for the rides.