the sentinel amsterdam vol. 5 #4
DESCRIPTION
The Sentinel, Amsterdam tri-weekly e-zine with all that is good and informative on lifestyles with perspectives, opinion and sport from Amsterdam looking out at the rest of the world. We inform, update and entertain from our city just under sea-level.TRANSCRIPT
The SentinelAmsterdamIntegrity heart humour
FEATURE
pERSEpEcTivES
CRISISLiFESTyLESOpiniOnREviEWTEchnOLOgyFiLMTREnDSSpORTcLASSiFiEDS
vol 5 4 ndash 10 Januari 2012
the VIKINGS
cOnTEnTS 02
03cOnTEnTS
In this issueFEATURE p 04
cOLOphOn
The Sentinel Amsterdam
e-mail sentinelpostgmailcomwebsite wwwthesentineleu
The Sentinel Amsterdam does not intentionally include unaccredited photosillustrations that are subject to copyright If you consider your copyright to have been infringed please contact us at sentinelpostgmailcom
Editors ndash Gary Rudland amp Denson PierreDesign realisation and form ndash Andrei Barburas amp No-OfficenlWebmaster ndash wwwsio-bytestumblrcomWebhost ndash Amsterjammincom
Contributors Valeria Scimia Simon Owusu Monica Lopes and Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
The Vikings
pERSpEcTivES p 14
Crisis
REviEW p 20
Mind the fat
TEchnOLOgy p26 SpORT p 36 MORE
TechBit Sio-Bytes ndash Death of specs
The Gold Room bOOk REviEW p 31American Psycho
SpOTTED p 30Where is this in Amsterdam
FiLM REviEW p 31Room 2C
TREnDS p 32Super Crisis
CLASSIFIEDS
lsquoModern Danes could also have such a lust for battle and loversquo
lsquoThe personal computing (PC) era is endingrsquo
lsquoI canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking aboutrsquo
lsquoThe squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of itrsquo
04FEATURE
By Denson Pierre
The vikings
lsquoWe had come to experience the transition of 2011 into 2012rsquo
Our host Stan Smith is an anthropologist and has now lived in Copenhagen for more than twelve years since leaving us in Amsterdam Before that he had travelled and worked extensively around his own United States This made it easier for us since we were not simply tourists blindly trying to extract meaningful experiences in the very short period of four days Denmark is a very complex society within modern Europe and while appearances there do not deceive they do not tell the full story either
Maybe the first thing that strikes you about Copenhagen in daylight is that it is slick and sleek Not many of the older cities around Europe can make Amsterdam appear shabby but this one certainly does The city is beautiful with simi-larly historic low-profiled buildings in the old central area and some brave new yet also low-rise architecture around the edges as well as on what was previously waste ground Many aspects of the lsquonew buildsrsquo for accommodation are similar to the modern-day prefabricated units we have in places like IJburg
It is easy to fall in love with this city superficially as even though the population is similar to Amsterdamrsquos the solid underfoot rock constitution of the islands that make up the city means roads and walkways are wider and many buildings more robustly built and more imposing compared to our fair city of doll houses and tiny apart-ments It feels tremendously spacious As to whether one is actually better than the other in which to live I cannot decide since cost-wise the rates and almost everything else in Copenhagen seems to be many percentage points higher The city teeters on the edge of being prohibitively expensive
FEATURE 05
Coincidentally just as I was towelling myself off after a shower in preparation for my first ever trip to Copenhagen and Denmark I experienced another first The television was tuned to MGM Classics and a movie from 1958 caught my eye featuring Kirk Douglas spectacular scenery and period-costumed adventure The movie was fittingly called The Vikings and I had never seen it before I had to pinch myself for believing further that the modern Danes could also have such a lust for battle and love as those proffered by Hol-lywood in an age past
The city of Copenhagen like many others is ridiculously easy to get to by air from Amsterdam Indeed the trip from my door to the door of our host in the suburbs of Co-penhagen took all of three hours aided by hyper-efficient public transport at both ends
We had come to experience the transition of 2011 into 2012 and have a bit of fun and learning at the same time With my wife in tow and regularly reminding me that we were in the capital of trendy European fashion shopping I was alert to the need to set routes away from time- and money-consuming streets This was made even easier as our world-wise host and friend is equally trained in the fine art of finding that which is interesting in people and cultures and not what defines their need to simply pose and over-consume
lsquoWe were not simply tourists blindly trying to extract meaningful experiences in the very short period of four daysrsquo
lsquoThe first thing that strikes you about Copenhagen in daylight is that it is slick and sleekrsquo
This factor has not led to too many accommodation units being abandoned or empty or restaurants and cafes vis-ibly experiencing a crisis but Danes are having to check themselves carefully as the global economic travails have also heavily impacted there and will continue to do so markedly just like everywhere else It can appear to be a more affluent country than the Netherlands but this is misleading Danish insular economic planning means that they are only slowly coming to realise that the very flashy over-fashioned luxury-product-filled lives they wish to live cannot really be afforded and no one should be fooled into thinking otherwise This is not Norway The slump in the housing market and the overly elaborate and supra-generous welfare and education system mean that sums no longer add up and politicians are chiselling away at the edges in an effort to bring lsquoexpectedrsquo living standard levels down to something that is actually affordable and not just another credit-led illusion
For New Yearrsquos Eve we went traditional and attended a house party hosted by Stanrsquos extended family There was great pressure to be on time that is before 1800 hours when tradition dictates that we all watchlisten to Queen
Margrethe IIrsquos speech Once that was over the partying up to the following year could begin in earnest Champagne must have been available on special offer since there was a fair amount available leading up to a very lavish traditional dinner of at least four courses We were full after two The chef for the evening managed to procure huge portions of freshly shot deer which he brought over from the very nearby Swedish countryside to serve up as part of the main course Wine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generations And then suddenly it was fifteen minutes to midnight
The countdown to the New Year is televised live from the royal court and is full of choreographed celebratory mili-tary drills and Lutheran church scenes with choirs singing in the dawn of another year As soon as the official acts are done and the Danes have jumped (literally some of our hosts stood on the edge of the main couch and sprang into the New Year as the main city clock struck midnight) into 2012 all Chinese firework hell broke loose in the skies At this point I did not miss Amsterdam as I am sure it would have been much more of a racket there with so many more extreme explosives making it through to its narrow streets courtyards and squares
Sleep is good After the previous full Copenhagen day during which it experienced the first hard frost and freez-ing temperatures of the winter the next day was about heading into the city for an extensive tourist stroll With this holiday falling on a Sunday the commercial fire was not alight Danes are not one of the European nations to indulge New Yearrsquos Day as another party day out Even the museums were closed We managed to make do with the small number of welcoming establishments open for food and drink and once more breathed the fresh air of this fine and perplexing city which I look forward to visiting again soon
06FEATURE
lsquoThey are only slowly coming to realise that the very flashy over-fashioned luxury-product-filled lives they wish to live cannot really be affordedrsquo
FEATURE 07
08FEATURE
FEATURE 09
lsquoWine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generationsrsquo
10FEATURE
FEATURE 11
SpORTcLASSiFiEDS 12
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 13
14pERSpEcTivES
Crisiswhat crisis
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
cOnTEnTS 02
03cOnTEnTS
In this issueFEATURE p 04
cOLOphOn
The Sentinel Amsterdam
e-mail sentinelpostgmailcomwebsite wwwthesentineleu
The Sentinel Amsterdam does not intentionally include unaccredited photosillustrations that are subject to copyright If you consider your copyright to have been infringed please contact us at sentinelpostgmailcom
Editors ndash Gary Rudland amp Denson PierreDesign realisation and form ndash Andrei Barburas amp No-OfficenlWebmaster ndash wwwsio-bytestumblrcomWebhost ndash Amsterjammincom
Contributors Valeria Scimia Simon Owusu Monica Lopes and Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
The Vikings
pERSpEcTivES p 14
Crisis
REviEW p 20
Mind the fat
TEchnOLOgy p26 SpORT p 36 MORE
TechBit Sio-Bytes ndash Death of specs
The Gold Room bOOk REviEW p 31American Psycho
SpOTTED p 30Where is this in Amsterdam
FiLM REviEW p 31Room 2C
TREnDS p 32Super Crisis
CLASSIFIEDS
lsquoModern Danes could also have such a lust for battle and loversquo
lsquoThe personal computing (PC) era is endingrsquo
lsquoI canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking aboutrsquo
lsquoThe squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of itrsquo
04FEATURE
By Denson Pierre
The vikings
lsquoWe had come to experience the transition of 2011 into 2012rsquo
Our host Stan Smith is an anthropologist and has now lived in Copenhagen for more than twelve years since leaving us in Amsterdam Before that he had travelled and worked extensively around his own United States This made it easier for us since we were not simply tourists blindly trying to extract meaningful experiences in the very short period of four days Denmark is a very complex society within modern Europe and while appearances there do not deceive they do not tell the full story either
Maybe the first thing that strikes you about Copenhagen in daylight is that it is slick and sleek Not many of the older cities around Europe can make Amsterdam appear shabby but this one certainly does The city is beautiful with simi-larly historic low-profiled buildings in the old central area and some brave new yet also low-rise architecture around the edges as well as on what was previously waste ground Many aspects of the lsquonew buildsrsquo for accommodation are similar to the modern-day prefabricated units we have in places like IJburg
It is easy to fall in love with this city superficially as even though the population is similar to Amsterdamrsquos the solid underfoot rock constitution of the islands that make up the city means roads and walkways are wider and many buildings more robustly built and more imposing compared to our fair city of doll houses and tiny apart-ments It feels tremendously spacious As to whether one is actually better than the other in which to live I cannot decide since cost-wise the rates and almost everything else in Copenhagen seems to be many percentage points higher The city teeters on the edge of being prohibitively expensive
FEATURE 05
Coincidentally just as I was towelling myself off after a shower in preparation for my first ever trip to Copenhagen and Denmark I experienced another first The television was tuned to MGM Classics and a movie from 1958 caught my eye featuring Kirk Douglas spectacular scenery and period-costumed adventure The movie was fittingly called The Vikings and I had never seen it before I had to pinch myself for believing further that the modern Danes could also have such a lust for battle and love as those proffered by Hol-lywood in an age past
The city of Copenhagen like many others is ridiculously easy to get to by air from Amsterdam Indeed the trip from my door to the door of our host in the suburbs of Co-penhagen took all of three hours aided by hyper-efficient public transport at both ends
We had come to experience the transition of 2011 into 2012 and have a bit of fun and learning at the same time With my wife in tow and regularly reminding me that we were in the capital of trendy European fashion shopping I was alert to the need to set routes away from time- and money-consuming streets This was made even easier as our world-wise host and friend is equally trained in the fine art of finding that which is interesting in people and cultures and not what defines their need to simply pose and over-consume
lsquoWe were not simply tourists blindly trying to extract meaningful experiences in the very short period of four daysrsquo
lsquoThe first thing that strikes you about Copenhagen in daylight is that it is slick and sleekrsquo
This factor has not led to too many accommodation units being abandoned or empty or restaurants and cafes vis-ibly experiencing a crisis but Danes are having to check themselves carefully as the global economic travails have also heavily impacted there and will continue to do so markedly just like everywhere else It can appear to be a more affluent country than the Netherlands but this is misleading Danish insular economic planning means that they are only slowly coming to realise that the very flashy over-fashioned luxury-product-filled lives they wish to live cannot really be afforded and no one should be fooled into thinking otherwise This is not Norway The slump in the housing market and the overly elaborate and supra-generous welfare and education system mean that sums no longer add up and politicians are chiselling away at the edges in an effort to bring lsquoexpectedrsquo living standard levels down to something that is actually affordable and not just another credit-led illusion
For New Yearrsquos Eve we went traditional and attended a house party hosted by Stanrsquos extended family There was great pressure to be on time that is before 1800 hours when tradition dictates that we all watchlisten to Queen
Margrethe IIrsquos speech Once that was over the partying up to the following year could begin in earnest Champagne must have been available on special offer since there was a fair amount available leading up to a very lavish traditional dinner of at least four courses We were full after two The chef for the evening managed to procure huge portions of freshly shot deer which he brought over from the very nearby Swedish countryside to serve up as part of the main course Wine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generations And then suddenly it was fifteen minutes to midnight
The countdown to the New Year is televised live from the royal court and is full of choreographed celebratory mili-tary drills and Lutheran church scenes with choirs singing in the dawn of another year As soon as the official acts are done and the Danes have jumped (literally some of our hosts stood on the edge of the main couch and sprang into the New Year as the main city clock struck midnight) into 2012 all Chinese firework hell broke loose in the skies At this point I did not miss Amsterdam as I am sure it would have been much more of a racket there with so many more extreme explosives making it through to its narrow streets courtyards and squares
Sleep is good After the previous full Copenhagen day during which it experienced the first hard frost and freez-ing temperatures of the winter the next day was about heading into the city for an extensive tourist stroll With this holiday falling on a Sunday the commercial fire was not alight Danes are not one of the European nations to indulge New Yearrsquos Day as another party day out Even the museums were closed We managed to make do with the small number of welcoming establishments open for food and drink and once more breathed the fresh air of this fine and perplexing city which I look forward to visiting again soon
06FEATURE
lsquoThey are only slowly coming to realise that the very flashy over-fashioned luxury-product-filled lives they wish to live cannot really be affordedrsquo
FEATURE 07
08FEATURE
FEATURE 09
lsquoWine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generationsrsquo
10FEATURE
FEATURE 11
SpORTcLASSiFiEDS 12
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 13
14pERSpEcTivES
Crisiswhat crisis
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
03cOnTEnTS
In this issueFEATURE p 04
cOLOphOn
The Sentinel Amsterdam
e-mail sentinelpostgmailcomwebsite wwwthesentineleu
The Sentinel Amsterdam does not intentionally include unaccredited photosillustrations that are subject to copyright If you consider your copyright to have been infringed please contact us at sentinelpostgmailcom
Editors ndash Gary Rudland amp Denson PierreDesign realisation and form ndash Andrei Barburas amp No-OfficenlWebmaster ndash wwwsio-bytestumblrcomWebhost ndash Amsterjammincom
Contributors Valeria Scimia Simon Owusu Monica Lopes and Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
The Vikings
pERSpEcTivES p 14
Crisis
REviEW p 20
Mind the fat
TEchnOLOgy p26 SpORT p 36 MORE
TechBit Sio-Bytes ndash Death of specs
The Gold Room bOOk REviEW p 31American Psycho
SpOTTED p 30Where is this in Amsterdam
FiLM REviEW p 31Room 2C
TREnDS p 32Super Crisis
CLASSIFIEDS
lsquoModern Danes could also have such a lust for battle and loversquo
lsquoThe personal computing (PC) era is endingrsquo
lsquoI canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking aboutrsquo
lsquoThe squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of itrsquo
04FEATURE
By Denson Pierre
The vikings
lsquoWe had come to experience the transition of 2011 into 2012rsquo
Our host Stan Smith is an anthropologist and has now lived in Copenhagen for more than twelve years since leaving us in Amsterdam Before that he had travelled and worked extensively around his own United States This made it easier for us since we were not simply tourists blindly trying to extract meaningful experiences in the very short period of four days Denmark is a very complex society within modern Europe and while appearances there do not deceive they do not tell the full story either
Maybe the first thing that strikes you about Copenhagen in daylight is that it is slick and sleek Not many of the older cities around Europe can make Amsterdam appear shabby but this one certainly does The city is beautiful with simi-larly historic low-profiled buildings in the old central area and some brave new yet also low-rise architecture around the edges as well as on what was previously waste ground Many aspects of the lsquonew buildsrsquo for accommodation are similar to the modern-day prefabricated units we have in places like IJburg
It is easy to fall in love with this city superficially as even though the population is similar to Amsterdamrsquos the solid underfoot rock constitution of the islands that make up the city means roads and walkways are wider and many buildings more robustly built and more imposing compared to our fair city of doll houses and tiny apart-ments It feels tremendously spacious As to whether one is actually better than the other in which to live I cannot decide since cost-wise the rates and almost everything else in Copenhagen seems to be many percentage points higher The city teeters on the edge of being prohibitively expensive
FEATURE 05
Coincidentally just as I was towelling myself off after a shower in preparation for my first ever trip to Copenhagen and Denmark I experienced another first The television was tuned to MGM Classics and a movie from 1958 caught my eye featuring Kirk Douglas spectacular scenery and period-costumed adventure The movie was fittingly called The Vikings and I had never seen it before I had to pinch myself for believing further that the modern Danes could also have such a lust for battle and love as those proffered by Hol-lywood in an age past
The city of Copenhagen like many others is ridiculously easy to get to by air from Amsterdam Indeed the trip from my door to the door of our host in the suburbs of Co-penhagen took all of three hours aided by hyper-efficient public transport at both ends
We had come to experience the transition of 2011 into 2012 and have a bit of fun and learning at the same time With my wife in tow and regularly reminding me that we were in the capital of trendy European fashion shopping I was alert to the need to set routes away from time- and money-consuming streets This was made even easier as our world-wise host and friend is equally trained in the fine art of finding that which is interesting in people and cultures and not what defines their need to simply pose and over-consume
lsquoWe were not simply tourists blindly trying to extract meaningful experiences in the very short period of four daysrsquo
lsquoThe first thing that strikes you about Copenhagen in daylight is that it is slick and sleekrsquo
This factor has not led to too many accommodation units being abandoned or empty or restaurants and cafes vis-ibly experiencing a crisis but Danes are having to check themselves carefully as the global economic travails have also heavily impacted there and will continue to do so markedly just like everywhere else It can appear to be a more affluent country than the Netherlands but this is misleading Danish insular economic planning means that they are only slowly coming to realise that the very flashy over-fashioned luxury-product-filled lives they wish to live cannot really be afforded and no one should be fooled into thinking otherwise This is not Norway The slump in the housing market and the overly elaborate and supra-generous welfare and education system mean that sums no longer add up and politicians are chiselling away at the edges in an effort to bring lsquoexpectedrsquo living standard levels down to something that is actually affordable and not just another credit-led illusion
For New Yearrsquos Eve we went traditional and attended a house party hosted by Stanrsquos extended family There was great pressure to be on time that is before 1800 hours when tradition dictates that we all watchlisten to Queen
Margrethe IIrsquos speech Once that was over the partying up to the following year could begin in earnest Champagne must have been available on special offer since there was a fair amount available leading up to a very lavish traditional dinner of at least four courses We were full after two The chef for the evening managed to procure huge portions of freshly shot deer which he brought over from the very nearby Swedish countryside to serve up as part of the main course Wine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generations And then suddenly it was fifteen minutes to midnight
The countdown to the New Year is televised live from the royal court and is full of choreographed celebratory mili-tary drills and Lutheran church scenes with choirs singing in the dawn of another year As soon as the official acts are done and the Danes have jumped (literally some of our hosts stood on the edge of the main couch and sprang into the New Year as the main city clock struck midnight) into 2012 all Chinese firework hell broke loose in the skies At this point I did not miss Amsterdam as I am sure it would have been much more of a racket there with so many more extreme explosives making it through to its narrow streets courtyards and squares
Sleep is good After the previous full Copenhagen day during which it experienced the first hard frost and freez-ing temperatures of the winter the next day was about heading into the city for an extensive tourist stroll With this holiday falling on a Sunday the commercial fire was not alight Danes are not one of the European nations to indulge New Yearrsquos Day as another party day out Even the museums were closed We managed to make do with the small number of welcoming establishments open for food and drink and once more breathed the fresh air of this fine and perplexing city which I look forward to visiting again soon
06FEATURE
lsquoThey are only slowly coming to realise that the very flashy over-fashioned luxury-product-filled lives they wish to live cannot really be affordedrsquo
FEATURE 07
08FEATURE
FEATURE 09
lsquoWine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generationsrsquo
10FEATURE
FEATURE 11
SpORTcLASSiFiEDS 12
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 13
14pERSpEcTivES
Crisiswhat crisis
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
04FEATURE
By Denson Pierre
The vikings
lsquoWe had come to experience the transition of 2011 into 2012rsquo
Our host Stan Smith is an anthropologist and has now lived in Copenhagen for more than twelve years since leaving us in Amsterdam Before that he had travelled and worked extensively around his own United States This made it easier for us since we were not simply tourists blindly trying to extract meaningful experiences in the very short period of four days Denmark is a very complex society within modern Europe and while appearances there do not deceive they do not tell the full story either
Maybe the first thing that strikes you about Copenhagen in daylight is that it is slick and sleek Not many of the older cities around Europe can make Amsterdam appear shabby but this one certainly does The city is beautiful with simi-larly historic low-profiled buildings in the old central area and some brave new yet also low-rise architecture around the edges as well as on what was previously waste ground Many aspects of the lsquonew buildsrsquo for accommodation are similar to the modern-day prefabricated units we have in places like IJburg
It is easy to fall in love with this city superficially as even though the population is similar to Amsterdamrsquos the solid underfoot rock constitution of the islands that make up the city means roads and walkways are wider and many buildings more robustly built and more imposing compared to our fair city of doll houses and tiny apart-ments It feels tremendously spacious As to whether one is actually better than the other in which to live I cannot decide since cost-wise the rates and almost everything else in Copenhagen seems to be many percentage points higher The city teeters on the edge of being prohibitively expensive
FEATURE 05
Coincidentally just as I was towelling myself off after a shower in preparation for my first ever trip to Copenhagen and Denmark I experienced another first The television was tuned to MGM Classics and a movie from 1958 caught my eye featuring Kirk Douglas spectacular scenery and period-costumed adventure The movie was fittingly called The Vikings and I had never seen it before I had to pinch myself for believing further that the modern Danes could also have such a lust for battle and love as those proffered by Hol-lywood in an age past
The city of Copenhagen like many others is ridiculously easy to get to by air from Amsterdam Indeed the trip from my door to the door of our host in the suburbs of Co-penhagen took all of three hours aided by hyper-efficient public transport at both ends
We had come to experience the transition of 2011 into 2012 and have a bit of fun and learning at the same time With my wife in tow and regularly reminding me that we were in the capital of trendy European fashion shopping I was alert to the need to set routes away from time- and money-consuming streets This was made even easier as our world-wise host and friend is equally trained in the fine art of finding that which is interesting in people and cultures and not what defines their need to simply pose and over-consume
lsquoWe were not simply tourists blindly trying to extract meaningful experiences in the very short period of four daysrsquo
lsquoThe first thing that strikes you about Copenhagen in daylight is that it is slick and sleekrsquo
This factor has not led to too many accommodation units being abandoned or empty or restaurants and cafes vis-ibly experiencing a crisis but Danes are having to check themselves carefully as the global economic travails have also heavily impacted there and will continue to do so markedly just like everywhere else It can appear to be a more affluent country than the Netherlands but this is misleading Danish insular economic planning means that they are only slowly coming to realise that the very flashy over-fashioned luxury-product-filled lives they wish to live cannot really be afforded and no one should be fooled into thinking otherwise This is not Norway The slump in the housing market and the overly elaborate and supra-generous welfare and education system mean that sums no longer add up and politicians are chiselling away at the edges in an effort to bring lsquoexpectedrsquo living standard levels down to something that is actually affordable and not just another credit-led illusion
For New Yearrsquos Eve we went traditional and attended a house party hosted by Stanrsquos extended family There was great pressure to be on time that is before 1800 hours when tradition dictates that we all watchlisten to Queen
Margrethe IIrsquos speech Once that was over the partying up to the following year could begin in earnest Champagne must have been available on special offer since there was a fair amount available leading up to a very lavish traditional dinner of at least four courses We were full after two The chef for the evening managed to procure huge portions of freshly shot deer which he brought over from the very nearby Swedish countryside to serve up as part of the main course Wine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generations And then suddenly it was fifteen minutes to midnight
The countdown to the New Year is televised live from the royal court and is full of choreographed celebratory mili-tary drills and Lutheran church scenes with choirs singing in the dawn of another year As soon as the official acts are done and the Danes have jumped (literally some of our hosts stood on the edge of the main couch and sprang into the New Year as the main city clock struck midnight) into 2012 all Chinese firework hell broke loose in the skies At this point I did not miss Amsterdam as I am sure it would have been much more of a racket there with so many more extreme explosives making it through to its narrow streets courtyards and squares
Sleep is good After the previous full Copenhagen day during which it experienced the first hard frost and freez-ing temperatures of the winter the next day was about heading into the city for an extensive tourist stroll With this holiday falling on a Sunday the commercial fire was not alight Danes are not one of the European nations to indulge New Yearrsquos Day as another party day out Even the museums were closed We managed to make do with the small number of welcoming establishments open for food and drink and once more breathed the fresh air of this fine and perplexing city which I look forward to visiting again soon
06FEATURE
lsquoThey are only slowly coming to realise that the very flashy over-fashioned luxury-product-filled lives they wish to live cannot really be affordedrsquo
FEATURE 07
08FEATURE
FEATURE 09
lsquoWine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generationsrsquo
10FEATURE
FEATURE 11
SpORTcLASSiFiEDS 12
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 13
14pERSpEcTivES
Crisiswhat crisis
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
Our host Stan Smith is an anthropologist and has now lived in Copenhagen for more than twelve years since leaving us in Amsterdam Before that he had travelled and worked extensively around his own United States This made it easier for us since we were not simply tourists blindly trying to extract meaningful experiences in the very short period of four days Denmark is a very complex society within modern Europe and while appearances there do not deceive they do not tell the full story either
Maybe the first thing that strikes you about Copenhagen in daylight is that it is slick and sleek Not many of the older cities around Europe can make Amsterdam appear shabby but this one certainly does The city is beautiful with simi-larly historic low-profiled buildings in the old central area and some brave new yet also low-rise architecture around the edges as well as on what was previously waste ground Many aspects of the lsquonew buildsrsquo for accommodation are similar to the modern-day prefabricated units we have in places like IJburg
It is easy to fall in love with this city superficially as even though the population is similar to Amsterdamrsquos the solid underfoot rock constitution of the islands that make up the city means roads and walkways are wider and many buildings more robustly built and more imposing compared to our fair city of doll houses and tiny apart-ments It feels tremendously spacious As to whether one is actually better than the other in which to live I cannot decide since cost-wise the rates and almost everything else in Copenhagen seems to be many percentage points higher The city teeters on the edge of being prohibitively expensive
FEATURE 05
Coincidentally just as I was towelling myself off after a shower in preparation for my first ever trip to Copenhagen and Denmark I experienced another first The television was tuned to MGM Classics and a movie from 1958 caught my eye featuring Kirk Douglas spectacular scenery and period-costumed adventure The movie was fittingly called The Vikings and I had never seen it before I had to pinch myself for believing further that the modern Danes could also have such a lust for battle and love as those proffered by Hol-lywood in an age past
The city of Copenhagen like many others is ridiculously easy to get to by air from Amsterdam Indeed the trip from my door to the door of our host in the suburbs of Co-penhagen took all of three hours aided by hyper-efficient public transport at both ends
We had come to experience the transition of 2011 into 2012 and have a bit of fun and learning at the same time With my wife in tow and regularly reminding me that we were in the capital of trendy European fashion shopping I was alert to the need to set routes away from time- and money-consuming streets This was made even easier as our world-wise host and friend is equally trained in the fine art of finding that which is interesting in people and cultures and not what defines their need to simply pose and over-consume
lsquoWe were not simply tourists blindly trying to extract meaningful experiences in the very short period of four daysrsquo
lsquoThe first thing that strikes you about Copenhagen in daylight is that it is slick and sleekrsquo
This factor has not led to too many accommodation units being abandoned or empty or restaurants and cafes vis-ibly experiencing a crisis but Danes are having to check themselves carefully as the global economic travails have also heavily impacted there and will continue to do so markedly just like everywhere else It can appear to be a more affluent country than the Netherlands but this is misleading Danish insular economic planning means that they are only slowly coming to realise that the very flashy over-fashioned luxury-product-filled lives they wish to live cannot really be afforded and no one should be fooled into thinking otherwise This is not Norway The slump in the housing market and the overly elaborate and supra-generous welfare and education system mean that sums no longer add up and politicians are chiselling away at the edges in an effort to bring lsquoexpectedrsquo living standard levels down to something that is actually affordable and not just another credit-led illusion
For New Yearrsquos Eve we went traditional and attended a house party hosted by Stanrsquos extended family There was great pressure to be on time that is before 1800 hours when tradition dictates that we all watchlisten to Queen
Margrethe IIrsquos speech Once that was over the partying up to the following year could begin in earnest Champagne must have been available on special offer since there was a fair amount available leading up to a very lavish traditional dinner of at least four courses We were full after two The chef for the evening managed to procure huge portions of freshly shot deer which he brought over from the very nearby Swedish countryside to serve up as part of the main course Wine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generations And then suddenly it was fifteen minutes to midnight
The countdown to the New Year is televised live from the royal court and is full of choreographed celebratory mili-tary drills and Lutheran church scenes with choirs singing in the dawn of another year As soon as the official acts are done and the Danes have jumped (literally some of our hosts stood on the edge of the main couch and sprang into the New Year as the main city clock struck midnight) into 2012 all Chinese firework hell broke loose in the skies At this point I did not miss Amsterdam as I am sure it would have been much more of a racket there with so many more extreme explosives making it through to its narrow streets courtyards and squares
Sleep is good After the previous full Copenhagen day during which it experienced the first hard frost and freez-ing temperatures of the winter the next day was about heading into the city for an extensive tourist stroll With this holiday falling on a Sunday the commercial fire was not alight Danes are not one of the European nations to indulge New Yearrsquos Day as another party day out Even the museums were closed We managed to make do with the small number of welcoming establishments open for food and drink and once more breathed the fresh air of this fine and perplexing city which I look forward to visiting again soon
06FEATURE
lsquoThey are only slowly coming to realise that the very flashy over-fashioned luxury-product-filled lives they wish to live cannot really be affordedrsquo
FEATURE 07
08FEATURE
FEATURE 09
lsquoWine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generationsrsquo
10FEATURE
FEATURE 11
SpORTcLASSiFiEDS 12
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 13
14pERSpEcTivES
Crisiswhat crisis
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
This factor has not led to too many accommodation units being abandoned or empty or restaurants and cafes vis-ibly experiencing a crisis but Danes are having to check themselves carefully as the global economic travails have also heavily impacted there and will continue to do so markedly just like everywhere else It can appear to be a more affluent country than the Netherlands but this is misleading Danish insular economic planning means that they are only slowly coming to realise that the very flashy over-fashioned luxury-product-filled lives they wish to live cannot really be afforded and no one should be fooled into thinking otherwise This is not Norway The slump in the housing market and the overly elaborate and supra-generous welfare and education system mean that sums no longer add up and politicians are chiselling away at the edges in an effort to bring lsquoexpectedrsquo living standard levels down to something that is actually affordable and not just another credit-led illusion
For New Yearrsquos Eve we went traditional and attended a house party hosted by Stanrsquos extended family There was great pressure to be on time that is before 1800 hours when tradition dictates that we all watchlisten to Queen
Margrethe IIrsquos speech Once that was over the partying up to the following year could begin in earnest Champagne must have been available on special offer since there was a fair amount available leading up to a very lavish traditional dinner of at least four courses We were full after two The chef for the evening managed to procure huge portions of freshly shot deer which he brought over from the very nearby Swedish countryside to serve up as part of the main course Wine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generations And then suddenly it was fifteen minutes to midnight
The countdown to the New Year is televised live from the royal court and is full of choreographed celebratory mili-tary drills and Lutheran church scenes with choirs singing in the dawn of another year As soon as the official acts are done and the Danes have jumped (literally some of our hosts stood on the edge of the main couch and sprang into the New Year as the main city clock struck midnight) into 2012 all Chinese firework hell broke loose in the skies At this point I did not miss Amsterdam as I am sure it would have been much more of a racket there with so many more extreme explosives making it through to its narrow streets courtyards and squares
Sleep is good After the previous full Copenhagen day during which it experienced the first hard frost and freez-ing temperatures of the winter the next day was about heading into the city for an extensive tourist stroll With this holiday falling on a Sunday the commercial fire was not alight Danes are not one of the European nations to indulge New Yearrsquos Day as another party day out Even the museums were closed We managed to make do with the small number of welcoming establishments open for food and drink and once more breathed the fresh air of this fine and perplexing city which I look forward to visiting again soon
06FEATURE
lsquoThey are only slowly coming to realise that the very flashy over-fashioned luxury-product-filled lives they wish to live cannot really be affordedrsquo
FEATURE 07
08FEATURE
FEATURE 09
lsquoWine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generationsrsquo
10FEATURE
FEATURE 11
SpORTcLASSiFiEDS 12
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 13
14pERSpEcTivES
Crisiswhat crisis
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
FEATURE 07
08FEATURE
FEATURE 09
lsquoWine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generationsrsquo
10FEATURE
FEATURE 11
SpORTcLASSiFiEDS 12
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 13
14pERSpEcTivES
Crisiswhat crisis
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
08FEATURE
FEATURE 09
lsquoWine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generationsrsquo
10FEATURE
FEATURE 11
SpORTcLASSiFiEDS 12
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 13
14pERSpEcTivES
Crisiswhat crisis
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
FEATURE 09
lsquoWine beer and extremely good-natured revelry ensued involving all the family across the generationsrsquo
10FEATURE
FEATURE 11
SpORTcLASSiFiEDS 12
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 13
14pERSpEcTivES
Crisiswhat crisis
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
10FEATURE
FEATURE 11
SpORTcLASSiFiEDS 12
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 13
14pERSpEcTivES
Crisiswhat crisis
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
FEATURE 11
SpORTcLASSiFiEDS 12
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 13
14pERSpEcTivES
Crisiswhat crisis
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
SpORTcLASSiFiEDS 12
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 13
14pERSpEcTivES
Crisiswhat crisis
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 13
14pERSpEcTivES
Crisiswhat crisis
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
14pERSpEcTivES
Crisiswhat crisis
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
By Valeria Scimia
pERSpEcTivES 15
Everyone is talking about the economic crisis that has hit Europe and inevitably the Netherlands As someone from the much more economically troubled country of Italy I canrsquot really empathise with the Dutch crisis everyone is intensively talking about I have a notion that most people who like me have lived here for more than a decade may feel the same way The unemployment rate for in-stance is still relatively low and social welfare and pensions are still being paid out to the needy and elderly These are all luxuries when compared to places like Italy Greece or even the United States In the Netherlands human rights are also still taken into consideration and treated as such as far as Irsquom aware
There are reasons why this machine called the Nether-lands runs so smoothly Having lived here for so long my-self I can observe the cycles of re-adjustment this country goes through at three-to-five year intervals Companies for example tend to restructure causing many people to lose their jobs and the employment rates to change for a brief time After this cyclical restructuring the country seems to start running smoothly again Companies that fired hundreds of people a few months previously end up hiring more or less the same number of people again Employ-ment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international community either
But why does this happen Why is it that every now and then companies need to restructure and dispense with so many employees In my opinion this is due to the fact that
the Netherlands is such a small country in which the econ-omy and lifestyle must flow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammed or there could be direct negative consequences We all have seen how entire workforces can strike if they are not happy with how a country is going and the Dutch are not going to risk the safety and peace of their people just because we the international residents canrsquot accept changes Dutch people themselves adapt well and are generally very flexible in accepting changes
It is maybe time to adjust our perspective To view the current lsquocrisisrsquo in a different way because one definition of the word lsquocrisisrsquo is a crucial or decisive point or situa-tion a turning point (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomcrisis) We should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeist and that a state of perpetual lsquocrisisrsquo should have been declared ages ago Instead this word is negatively applied by many media to changes that are actually needed to improve the status of things that were old or no longer indicative of our society History with its repetitions should teach us this I suggest that people should see the changes not as a crisis but as an opportunity defined as a chance for progress or advance-ment (httpwwwthefreedictionarycomopportunity)
Psychological research tells us how the perception we apply to a situation or word can determine the way we ap-proach an actual situation Negative perceptions produce negativity and positive ones produce positivity Consider-ing that we live in a cyclical natural environment changes are needed to move to the next level Itrsquos ecological The Netherlands is one of the quickest countries to accept apply and adapt to changes as exemplified by the quick scrapping of the euro1 amp 2 cent pieces a couple of years after the currency was introduced The Dutch authorities imme-diately figured out what didnrsquot work for them and changed it We should learn from this flexible attitude because it is a proactive approach to life and its natural flow As jazz musician Stefon Harris once said ldquoSomething seems like a mistake only because we donrsquot react to it and learnrdquo
So donrsquot worry give it half a year let the Dutch do their cyclical readjustments and everything will soon be back to normal What is normal you may ask Thatrsquos a whole new subject in itself and one that I will address in a future instalment
lsquothere are reasons why this machine called the Netherlands runs so smoothlyrsquo
lsquoemployment rates donrsquot appear to have changed too dramatically within the international communityrsquo
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
16pERSpEcTivES
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
pERSpEcTivES 17
lsquoeconomy and lifestyle must fl ow easily and cannot be allowed to become jammedrsquo
lsquoWe should agree that the world has constantly been changing along with its zeitgeistrsquo
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
cLASSiFiEDS 18
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
cLASSiFiEDS 19
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
20REviEW
Mind the fat
lsquoThe kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establishmentrsquo
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
REviEW 21
It has been many years since I last both-ered going out for a meal at an Amsterdam vegetarian alternative (non-restaurant-based) kitchen These are usually run by groups as part of the squat scene There are several reasons for this abstinence that are almost entirely political closely followed by concerns over the very matter of the prepared food on offer I never fret about decor and ambiance in such instances since the squat graphic is its own and only appeals to those who are part of it or who wish to be enticed into the lifestyle it advertises middle class Dutch youngsters trying to lsquodrop-outrsquo and other mainly Central and Eastern European newcomers making a statement and generally trying to positively add to the culture
I say positive although the kitchen and eating area in question likes to announce itself as an anarchist establish-ment full of strict vegetarians This is all a bit of a yawn since Amsterdam makes such posturing moot to the point of being sublimely ridiculous Nonetheless I can recommend an evening meal at Miltvuur Keuken Zuid (MKZ) very highly especially if you are part of a group looking for a fresh and healthy meal while being able to easily afford your fill of drink without having to arrange an overdraft
I can understand the punkish shock factor the lsquoadministra-torsrsquo of this non-profit initiative wish to cause but wonder why they would choose a name so profoundly unappealing to most people Miltvuur Keuken Zuid translates most easily as Anthrax Kitchen South which sounds more like the name of a punk band Why would you wish to convey in your name one of the more anti-health panic-forming associations out there when you are dealing with food
In any case they manage to pull it off and it would be nit-picking not to judge the place on more conventional restaurant review grounds MKZ is a variation on the collective kitchen in which volunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished expo-nents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian fare in three courses The presentation is all
fun as there is a very high level of interactivity possible between the kitchen crew and the eager non-flesh-eating clientele and their guests The atmosphere is very friendly and for me the biggest compliment possible is that both the food and the playful vibe are excellent for young kids There is none of the lsquoalien to childrenrsquo confusion associated with taking food in a formal setting surrounded by adults role-playing during the dining out experience The youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing it
My own luck was in as I was the guest of the Portuguese sub-set of people associated with MKZ This afforded me the chance to enjoy the food and delicious Belgian beers at prices that made me feel as though I was eating and drinking for free Impressively they have kept lsquorealrsquo pricing and not done the rip-off and paradoxical thing through which so many other squat kitchens pushed away the lsquoalternative-minded-but-not-busy-with-the-extravagant-sub-culture-stylingrsquo mass Collectives enjoying squat rates but charging restaurant prices tarnished the entire scene for way too many Amsterdammers for a very long time
Back in the room and the experience was topped off nicely when the Portuguese lsquoanarchistsrsquo produced a bottle of that Porto regional favourite Favaito (yes looks like you are allowed to bring and share beverages not sold there within reason) Although I am no connoisseur of wines and port this was a scrumptious complement to the dry yeasty beers lightly spiced food and yummy desert
All in all a memorable evening was had and this was not simply due to the first storm of winter raging outside The people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdam-mers rather than keeping it so close to themselves I mean when did you last hear of eating well drinking much and having uplifting conversations all for less than b 20 in present-day Amsterdam central districts To put this into perspective the number one (two Michelin starred) restaurant in Amsterdam sits obliquely opposite MKZ and for b 20 there they may allow you to maybe just about have a look inside the door
Call and book a table as it is a pleasantly surprising and refreshingly different httpbinnenprhomexs4allnlmkzhtm
By Denson Pierre
lsquoVolunteers with a dab hand at cooking as well as other rather more accomplished exponents take turns at turning out classic middle-European vegetarian farersquo
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
22REviEW
lsquoThe youngsters just love it and there is nothing nicer than seeing young children deal with easily managed nutrition and having fun doing itrsquo
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
REviEW 23
lsquoThe people here have got a fair bit right and maybe it is time they shared this simple way with many more Amsterdammersrsquo
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
24cLASSiFiEDS
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
25cLASSiFiEDS
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
TEchnOLOgy 26
By Simon Owusu
TechBit Sio-Bytes
lsquoWe are now at the point where the current wave of smartphones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous erarsquo
For a New Year to begin the previous one has to end Such is the circle of life in our world and also in the world of computing The personal computing (PC) era is ending and a new one is beginning With the dawn of the Post-PC era the demise of technical specifica-tions in computing has begun To understand the implications of this we first need to understand what the Post-PC era is
From room-filling mainframes to personal computers sitting on desktops through to tablets and smartphones in our bags and pockets computing evolves from era to era with each era having its own distinctive characteristics When these characteristics start changing we start seeing a shift into a new era Historically an era is always dwarfed by its successive era and the Post-PC era into which we are currently transitioning is no different We are now at the point where the current wave of smart-phones and tablets outnumber the desktop computers of the previous era
As the distinctive characteristics of each era change the relationship between users and their computing devices also changes Some of the characteristic changes we are now seeing are from stationary to ubiquitous formal to
informal and abstract to physical Computing has tradi-tionally been place-dependent (stationary) in a structured work environment (formal) and controlled by a keyboard mouse or stylus (abstract) In the Post-PC era computing now occurs anywhere and everywhere (ubiquitous) and in-teraction takes place through our fingers via multi-touch screens aided by voice-recognition controls (physical) There are no boundaries to where we use our computing devices as we use them for work and play in our offices and also in our homes (informal)
These changes clearly identify a new era one that will bring about the imminent demise of technical specifica-tions in Post-PC computing Lists detailing a computing devicersquos processing speed memory and storage among other internal component metrics are becoming meaning-less There was a time and place when these were relevant and that was in the PC era In the previous era during which Windows ruled specifications fulfilled a purpose With Windows being the operating system on almost all desktop devices the hardware became a differentiator and its technical specifications therefore made sense in gauging performance In the past the equation of more speed + more memory + larger hard drives translated into better performance meaning that technical specifications prevailed In the new era of tablets and smartphones this is all changing With the internet cloud computing broadband
Death of specs
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
lsquoComputing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enoughrsquo
TEchnOLOgy 27
lsquoIn the new era user experience outweighs technical specifi cationsrsquo
connectivity and Moorersquos Law computing devices are now more than capable of performing most usersrsquo tasks and we have moved on from needing more to having more than enough performance-wise More no longer equals better A computing devicersquos user experience ecosystem price and value among other factors have all become more important For example based on technical specifi cations alone the Barnes and Noble tablet the Nook Color is a better device (faster processor more memory) than the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which has a similar price and operates on the same Android system Yet the Amazon Kindle Fire outsold the Nook Color by a multiple of four over the festive period Amazonrsquos ecosystem the Amazon store which allows purchasing of music books and video content is a better value proposition compared to a device with just a faster processor and more memory The Nook
Color even with its better technical specifi cations was slated in multiple reviews for its poor user experience compared to the less powerful Kindle Fire In the new era user experience outweighs technical speci-fi cations as the leading factor in the perception of what makes a good computing device and how it performs This has become very evident in computing companiesrsquo current advertising Technical specifi cations now play a secondary role if any at all in how devices are sold The likes of HP Google Amazon and Apple now tout user experience features and design using non-technical language over gigahertz and gigabytes How a device moves smoothly between web pages is more important than how much memory it has IPad users know their tablets are the fastest on the market yet the majority donrsquot know or donrsquot even care about processor speed or the amount of memory in the device What they do care about is that it works and not what powers it to work in the way it does This is testa-ment to the new-age thinking in the new computing era where technical specifi cations no longer matter
Death of specs
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
cLASSiFiEDS 28
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
cLASSiFiEDS 29
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
30SpOTTED
Answer to sentinelpostgmailcom
Where is this inAmsterdam
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
Room 2cfilm
A book at lunchtime
Few Hollywood movies have had their name enter so easily into the cultural lexicon in the way this movie has After twenty-five years it is now a classic It depicts a near future in a fictional Detroit which has a high level of lawlessness and brutality as well as underlying humour and the heroism and technology developed by authorities to fight it An action movie containing gripping scenes exciting direction by Paul Verhoeven and creditable lead acting from Peter Weller
Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old vice-president of a Wall Street investment firm He wakes up at dawn in his Manhattan apartment wearing his Ralph Lauren silk pyjamas and slips on a paisley ancient madder robe He changes into Ralph Lauren monogrammed boxer shorts and a Fair Isle sweater then slides into silk polka-dot Enrico Hidolin slippers for his morning stretching exercises In the shower he first uses water-activated gel cleanser followed by a honey-almond body scrub and exfoliating gel scrub on the face On weekdays he uses Vidal Sassoon shampoo which is very good at getting rid of dried perspiration salts oils airborne pollutants and dirt that can make you look older as well as a silicone technology conditioner which doesnrsquot weigh down the hair and also prevents the appearance of ageing
On Wednesday after lunch he tries to bite off the fingers of the date he did not manage to nail down almost succeeding on her left thumb which he manages to chew all the flesh away from leaving the bone exposed before macing her again He sets up the Sony palm-sized Handycam so he can film all of what follows He begins by cutting off her dress with a pair of scissors and when he reaches her chest he occasionally stabs at her breasts slicing off one of her nipples through the bra She starts screaming again once hersquos ripped off her dress leaving her only in her bra with the right cup darkened by blood and her panties soaked with urine which he saves for later
Sick Yes Brilliant Yes Irsquom sure yoursquove heard about this novel as it is undoubtedly a modern American classicmiddot
By dpmotions
By Monica Lopes
Robocop (1987)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991
FiLM REviEW 31
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
TREnDS 32
lsquoA depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumptionrsquo
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
33TREnDS
In this period of recession and depression when the euro currency seems to be dropping into the abyss of eternal darkness without hope for rescue Greece has become a teary eyed economic orphan Italy has been let down by the mafi a and letrsquos face it the entire southern part of Europe including lsquoMediterranean Irelandrsquo seems to be sinking into that same sea due to lack of monetary funds to keep themselves afl oat Things are looking very very bleak for Europeans With little visible hope for recovery Christmas as I am quoting from a wide selection of famous Christmas movies seemed to be in danger this year because families couldnrsquot afford anything anymore and werenrsquot able to create a nice Christmassy atmosphere make lavish dinners or buy presents in this time of need
On the other hand during this very winter this actual holiday season just past Dutch supermarkets broke their sales records and made more than eight-hundred million euros compared to only seven-hundred and fi fty million in 2010 This represents an increase of 625 in the week leading up to and including Christmas
By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre
Super Crisis
A threatened shortage of lsquogourmet-schotelsrsquo in Albert Heijn almost led to a completely new and even more dangerous Christmas dinner crisis as Hollandrsquos favourite way to eat during the holidays is purely dependent upon Uncle Albert cutting different types of meat into little pieces and putting them on an aluminium foil dish with a garnish of two sprigs of fl at-leafed parsley One million of these were sold by just one of the bigger supermarket chains This does not even factor in all of the other chains our little country counts
Suffi ce to say a depression apparently leads to more eating and that means more overall consumption So maybe just maybe we have saved the economy after all this past Christmas Or even better Christmas has saved the economy
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
cLASSiFiEDS 34
Get advice on housing rental contracts and apartments in Amsterdam
wwwwswonennlenglish
wwwconsultancymarketmediacom
- Account Manager Market Media- (Internship) International Marketing Executive
we are looking for
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
cLASSiFiEDScLASSiFiEDS 35
wwwyourtuliptourcom
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
SpORT 36SpORT
ldquoLegend is a word bandied about too easily nowadaysrdquo This phrase itself is used so often that it too has fallen on its own sword of redundancy How else though do we go about thanking Ryan Giggs for what he has given to football at the highest level
At the beginning of 2012 the year in which pop Mayan prophecy analysis says we have mere months left before the earth turns over and eats itself and everyone on it we may actually be seeing the last of Giggs as a fundamental part of the first-team squad at one of the worldrsquos great clubs There is a playful reason why I do not need to men-tion the clubrsquos name Giggs has become so synonymous with it over the past twenty-two seasons that if you were not already screaming it in your head you should not be reading this dedication
Ryan Giggs has been playing at this rarefied level for so long now there are teammates eminent football journal-ists and bloggers out there who are half his age All the facts awards and decorations surrounding this Welshman make him if not the greatest footballer we have ever seen or the saint the marketers tried to make us believe in buy-ing far and away the greatest professional footballer the English top flight has ever known
It looks like I will end up buying and reading his autobiog-raphy before that of my own all-time favourite footballer Glenn Hoddle Farewell Ryan Giggs master of the Gold Room universe
By Denson Pierre
The Gold Room
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
SpORTSpORT 37
Ryan giggs
copy pieter bakker
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT
cLASSiFiEDS
wwwczechtourismcom
38
CZECH REPUBLIC - STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT