I took photos there with my Kodak Pocket Instamatic, the cheapest, smallest and simplest camera available. In 2005, photo shops stopped developing and printing Instamatic films. That meant the end of photography forever for me and others for whom expensive cameras for which you needed a Sc.D degree were not an option.
You could only make 12 photos with an Instamatic film. So, I had to be careful not to waste film.
I took photos there with my Kodak Pocket Instamatic, the cheapest, smallest and simplest camera available. In 2005, photo shops stopped developing and printing Instamatic films. That meant the end of photography forever for me and others for whom expensive cameras for which you needed a Sc.D degree were not an option.
You could only make 12 photos with an Instamatic film. So, I had to be careful not to waste film.
I took photos there with my Kodak Pocket Instamatic, the cheapest, smallest and simplest camera available. In 2005, photo shops stopped developing and printing Instamatic films. That meant the end of photography forever for me and others for whom expensive cameras for which you needed a Sc.D degree were not an option.
There were many bands on various stages at the New Pop festival. I didn’t know at what time there would be what music on what stage. So, when I read the festival line-up now, to my big shame I missed Public Image Limited. It looks like I also very regrettably missed the punky ska girls the Bodysnatchers from England. However … Wikipedia says that the Bodysnatchers played their first concert in London in November 1979, so after Rotterdam New Pop! Someone made a mistake somewhere.
UPDATE: Rhoda Dakar, Bodysnatchers’ singer, has replied meanwhile. Thank you so much, Rhoda! The Bodysnatchers never played outside the UK. So at Rotterdam New Pop 1979 either no Bodysnatchers, or different snatchers snatching different bodies.
You could only make 12 photos with an Instamatic film. So, I had to be careful not to waste film.
I did hear Roger Chapman and the Shortlist. Roger Chapman was a nice chap, but the music was a bit predictable. I didn’t make photos.
I did make photos of Inner Circle, as also this one shows.
Inner Circle reggae band in Rotterdam September 1979
And I saw and heard the Cure and the Specials. About that, later.
This 8 September 2020 video from Blijdorp zoo in Rotterdam in the Netherlands says about itself, translated:
A highly endangered lesser Antillean iguana has hatched in Blijdorp Zoo, a memorable moment for the international breeding program in which Blijdorp plays an important role. On May 15, 2018, four young lesser Antillean iguanas came to Rotterdam from St. Eustatius island: two females and two males. … And now, more than two years later, the first young lizard has been born.
50th Poetry International Festival Rotterdam, De Doelen, 13th June 2019
From Poetry International today:
With a heavy heart Poetry International has decided to postpone the 2020 Poetry International Festival Rotterdam which was to take place June 25-28. We were looking forward to it very much. Under the theme What You Will Hear Is True, we were well underway to creating a truly unforgettable 51st festival, much as we did during our successful anniversary edition in 2019, together with poets, translators, musicians, volunteers, partners, and of course the audience. Because of the current COVID-19 crisis, and the necessary measures limiting movement that have been taken in the Netherlands and abroad, it has proven impossible to prepare a festival worthy of its participants by the end of June.
We are primarily concerned with the health of the poets, translators, partners, visitors and co-workers of the festival, and the uncertain circumstances in which they now find themselves. We will try to support them to the best of our ability.
With the decision to postpone made, we are currently exploring the possibility of presenting poets, poetry, and events online or on stage at a later point in time. In the meantime we reach out to loyal and new audiences via our websites and social media, aiming to inspire and offer some comfort and consolation in these times, for example through our Archive Tours. Soon we will also be presenting our short term plans for various Book Clubs.
We will keep sharing new information on our websites and social media. We feel encouraged by the solidarity and creativity that we have seen blossoming all around us. And we wholeheartedly thank our sponsors for their support as we take the difficult decision of postponing our festival. We wish everyone much strength and resourcefulness in these surreal times. Keep your distance, stay healthy, and support one another.
On behalf of the board and staff of Poetry International,
This 13 February 2020 video shows marine fish in Oceanium aquarium in Blijdorp zoo in Rotterdam in the Netherlands eating their recently introduced vegan food.
The zoo writes about it on 13 February 2020 (translated):
UNIQUE VEGAN FOOD FOR FISH IN BLIJDORP
Herbivorous fish in aquariums are fed worldwide with fish feed with animal ingredients. There must be another way, thought Blijdorp. The zoo took action and is now developing its own, more natural diet for the herbivorous marine fish in the Oceanium. Everything is aimed at improving the welfare of the animals.
Ingredients fish food
The existing fish food of marine fish differs greatly from the diet of their species in the wild. All over the world they receive food of mainly animal origin, such as fishmeal. The plant-based ingredients in these foods are grown on land and not in the sea, such as corn, grain, soybeans and other beans. That’s pretty strange. There is a suspicion that this “unnatural” food is the cause of various fish diseases. An adequate diet could at least suppress various fish diseases such as marine head and lateral line erosion. That is why a new feed is being developed in the Oceanium.
100% vegan from the sea
Animal and farmed products are omitted from this new, natural feed. It only consists of vegetable products from the sea. With this, not one but more steps are taken in the right direction. After all, avoiding the use of soy also protects the Amazon region.
Grazing fish
Most herbivorous fish are “grazers”. For example, surgeonfish (known as Dory from the Disney movie) eat algae that grow on the hard surface of reefs. This natural grazing behaviour is also stimulated in the Oceanium. The new fish feed is not bound with the usual gelatin of animal origin but with agar made from red and brown algae. This is spread over our artificial corals in liquid form. This gives the fish the chance to show their natural grazing behavior. For the other fish in these aquariums it is more difficult to eat with this because their mouths are unsuitable for scraping or pulling away the food. In this way only the herbivorous fish can eat it. Now they can graze longer, just like they do in nature.
Various herbivorous fish such as surgeonfish, scats, butterflyfish and batfish swim in the coral tunnel of the Oceanium.
An investigation into insects on green roofs unexpectedly found a new species for the Netherlands in Rotterdam, in the roof garden of Erasmus Medical Center: a Braconidae family wasp species. The tiny wasp is called Idiasta dichrocera, and does not yet have a Dutch name.
To find out whether green roofs actually contribute to biodiversity, the Natural History Museum Rotterdam is researching which plants and animals are found there. Particular attention has been paid to the insects that can be found. The first results are starting to show.
Eva Drukker, a master’s student at Wageningen University, did the fieldwork. She has placed insect traps on various green roofs and roof gardens throughout the Netherlands. These samples must show which factors make a green roof a success for insects and other small animals.
It is a coincidence that the new roof garden of Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, the neighbours of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam, produced the special find. There, Eva found a little insect that was unknown to her: a small wasp-like creature that at first sight looks more like an ant than a wasp. Thanks to expert Kees van Achterberg, the animal could be named.
Idiasta dichrocera is only 4 millimeters in size. It had never found in the Netherlands before. It was in other European and Asian countries, including Germany, Sweden, Russia and China. Almost nothing is known about its way of life. It is suspected that the wasp is a parasite of fly larvae. Just what the wasp was looking for on the hospital roof is a mystery.
The wasp is included in the collection of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam under collection number NMR 9970-137370. Enthusiasts are welcome to come and admire the insect. A loupe is recommended.
Music video by Aqua performing Barbie Girl. (C) 1997 Universal Music (Denmark) A/S.
The Mattel corporation did not like that parody of their Barbie doll product, and sued. However, United States courts including the Supreme Court decided that the song was part of free speech.
Mattel has since released a promotional music video of the song (with modified lyrics) on the official Barbie web site in 2009, as part of a marketing strategy brought in to revive sales.
Now, there is a new attack on Barbie dolls in art. This time not by Mattel, but by prude rich people in Rotterdam city in the Netherlands.
At a primary school in Rotterdam a riot has broken out about the spare time activity of a teacher. Parents keep their children at home because they find the art made by the teacher – sexy Barbies – indecent.
By Jitske-Sophie Venema
The Rotterdam School Association has two primary schools in Rotterdam. The parental financial contribution here is more than ten times as high as average at 760 euros, more than half of the pupils get the advice to continue at the highest level of secondary education and culture is of paramount importance.
The teacher of the fifth grade is an artist outside school. On her Facebook page, scantily dressed Barbie dolls can be seen, set in challenging poses. The plastic blondes kiss each other,
‘Oh, how horrible!’ these anti-Barbie art parents think; ‘children getting to know that some girls don’t fall in love in boys, but with other girls‘. P.S. They won’t get to know that from their teacher, as she makes the Barbie doll art IN HER SPARE TIME and exhibits it IN HER SPARE TIME. She does not bring it to the classroom.
bend over in a translucent negligée or have a star on their bare buttocks. These images drive some parents of fifth grade students nuts. “It is not normal for a teacher to have this kind of images?” they scream in an anonymously sent e-mail. The parents even think that the teacher is a suspect of child porn,
demand that the management intervene and do not want to send their child to school until that time.
School director Per Severin sees this happening indeed. “The exact number of children staying at home differs per day, but there are more than five”, he sighs. In order to cope with the situation, he has now called in the help of the Education Inspectorate and the municipality. “This is an excellent teacher with a long service record. What my teachers do in their private lives is not my business and certainly not that of the children – unless the private activities clash with our school principles. In this respect, these artworks are okay. Facebook has never labeled them as offensive, even though they are very strict in such matters.”
… “Of course, there can be discussions about art. But even if the majority would find these works of art repulsive, that does not mean that I will take away a teacher away from her class.”
A 61-year-old man from Barendrecht was arrested because, according to the police, he threatened a Rotterdam local council election candidate on social media. The target is a member of the Ubuntu Connected Front, which in the city council mainly wants to represent Rotterdam people with an African and Caribbean background.
UCF, which already expected racist or discriminatory reactions in election time, immediately reported the threats to the police. “The suspect could quickly be tracked down by the police’s fast actions”, says the UCF.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 