Laser Sol Lumen

So starting on the 20th of March, and running till the 26th, to celebrate that the University of Utrecht was 375 years old, there was a laser light show, spanning about 3km from the University campus just outside and to the east of Utrecht, to the dom (cathedral) tower in the centre of utrecht.  The event/happening was called Laser Sol Lumen (or so I gather, I didn't read too much further into it all).

I randomly saw it one night, and it was interesting and kinda captivating in a way reminiscent of the aurora borealis.  Very cool.  And from my top floor studio apt, situated somewhere between the dom tower and the University campus, they were just about going overhead.

So it was one week of laser lights in the sky



-Bright lights, bigger city? - this is about as good a picture as the iPhone was able to take at night, from my apartment



-lights over Wilhelmina Park - the park just a few 100 meters down the street, and what it looked like from there (my iPhone didn't want to take any such photo, so this one isn't mine)



-lights a the dom - here you see kinda the scope of what it looked like (also not my photo)



-from East to the centre - the view of the University, at the source (again, not my photo)

RMR: Rick's Rant - Canada's Economic Action Plan

RMR: Rick's Rant - The Harper Government

Concert at 013 - Tilburg

Ok, so a bit behind on things again.
Went to a concert on the 27th of January at 013 in Tilburg.
On the bill was Neon Trees and Angels & Airwaves, as well as another band that was the first act which I forget as we didn't arrive on time to catch them.
I went with my cousin Hadewijch, who happened to have the evening free and an interest in seeing the show (last minute organized).  Went mainly to check out Neon Trees.

Neon Trees put on a really good (albeit relatively short) show.  They were scheduled to do about a half hour set, but I think about 15 minutes in, the kinda spastic (but really good) singer fell of the stage, after a brief pause -surprise - and silence, made it back on stage, and about 5 minutes later they finished.

-Neon Trees singer making a final picture at the end of their set "Bleed for what you love" being the caption he put on Twitter

-Angels & Airwaves - The Adventure (caution, lots of seizure inducing flashing lights)

Angels & Airwaves also put on a pretty good show, with their characteristic sound.  Didn't quite have the same energy as Neon Trees, and I'd say there was some sort of arrogance or something in their attitude or stage presence.

imm Köln 2011

Went to the imm (furniture show) in Köln Germany last month, here's a brief summary.



-Solid wood chair with leather cushion, and solid chunk of wood ottoman - was a nice clean, simple form, with a rough look



-couch with mismatched upholstery and colours - there were a few of these in different colours with different kinds of upholstery,kinda trendy I suppose



-really nice writing desk - had a style that made it appear kinda like a modern classic, nice legs and form on it



-subtle desktop storage - a really nice detail, the storage compartment on top



-top of desk - here you see how tight the detailing is on the storage compartment



-coffee table at the same stand - also with that similar 'modern classics' aura about it



-coffee table up close detail - liked the taper at the edges, and again, the legs and feet



-finite elemente - possibly one of the sweetest, tightest, iPod/Phone speaker docks available, as a wall mount shelf



-finite elemente, horizontal 51 - detail of the dock, shows a bit of scale



-wall mounted bio-ethanol fireplace - very slick, with subtle details



-lounge chair - interesting chair, with an internal, non-visible frame (can't remember the info on this one)



-dining table and chairs - the legs was the focal point on this shot, pretty interesting

-natural materials, woven chair - as opposed to the trendy, fake woven furniture of a year or so ago, now it's trending more towards true materials and craftsmanship (thankfully!)



-Lotus Chair, Jasper Morrison, for Cappellini - a design classic on display that I felt I was (re)discovering (if I wasn't already familiar with it)



-Rocker, by Doshi Levien for Richard Lampert - cool little minimalist piece of children's furniture



-new Ligne Roset living room furniture - can't find it on the site, but it had a kinda brushed suede upholstery



-newer bed from Ligne Roset - again, not finding it on the site, but similar to a couch they did, where it's kinda like a thick quilt hanging over a frame



-couch textures detail by Ligne Roset - really cool look and feel to it



-textured couch in red by Ligne Roset



-chairs by Ligne Roset - seem to have a bit of a optical illusion almost going on



-same chairs in black and red by Ligne Roset



-wall garden - at the TEAM 7 booth; they seem to be about sustainable wood furniture



-wood and stainless steel kitchen by TEAM 7 - I really like the look and feel of this, has the warmth of the wood, and the solidity of the fact its real wood, plus the stainless working great in the details and the counter with built in sink



-home decorating at TEAM 7 - featuring white tulips in white vases, white wood clogs, white speakers with a white turntable, and of course a white Schindelhauer Viktor



-Viktor - sigh, I want one! It's one of my current lust objects



-Pressed Chair, Harry Thaler Product Design - very cool simple design, working with the material properties of pressed steel



-Pressed Chair, Harry Thaler Product Design - folded version



-OLA foldable table by AKKA, (Oskar Ternbom & Petter Danielson) - unfolded



-OLA foldable table by AKKA, (Oskar Ternbom & Petter Danielson) - folded, front side



-OLA foldable table by AKKA, (Oskar Ternbom & Petter Danielson) - folded, back side



-table by Schwab/Panther - a cool puzzle like concept that uses no fasteners



-'Emotional Austerity' - special showroom highlighting a current trend, curated by Patricia Urquiola



-'Emotional Austerity' - special showroom highlighting a current trend, curated by Patricia Urquiola, zoom in for the text. There were a few other trends set up there as well, but I felt this one to be one of the most relevant, or in my view, accurate, as to the way things are going



-AGA - anyone else remember the AGA story from school? Just had to take a pic of it because of that



-gas on glass - nice gas cooktop (or hob as it's called in British) on white glass



-stainless gas hob - very tight design, featuring pan supports that are not cast iron, which is more of a rarity



-wood and mesh dining chairs - really nice, clean chairs, with a seamless integration of mesh on the wooden frames



-wood and mesh dining chairs - back side



-counter top dish drying detail - machined into the stone surface of the counter, grooves to let water drain from dishes?



-Freedom bar stool by Stefano Sandonà for GABER - interior innovation award 2011 winner



-Brunner finalounge by Wolfgang C.R. Mezger for Brunner - interior innovation award 2011 winner



-stern, coffee table by Jacob Strobel for TEAM 7 - interior innovation award 2011 winner



-Café Chair, fully wooden chair with 3D-woven back by Jonathan Prestwick for Arco

Fietsvak 2011

This year's Fietsvak (Dutch bike show for the bike shops and tradespeople) didn't have too much spectacular going on, just a few things to note.



-Voltage Cycles - a really sweet e-bike (even though I haven't really been much of a fan of e-bikes before), by Project 346 of Amsterdam who make the 346 stretched cruiser.



-'Boris' by Batavus - one of the big Dutch bicycle brands has finally got on the hypemachine by adding this nice singlespeed/fixie to their collection, available in both Black and White for € 599,-



-chainring detail on the Boris - subtle, very subtle. Gotta love these kinda details.



-seatpost detail on the Boris - I was really digging the (looks to be?) forged seatpost.



-Wooden bicycle by Jan Gunneweg - a really nice piece of art (not sure on the practicality of an entirely wooden bicycle, as sweet as it does look), the wheels are especially cool.



-wooden bicycle wheel - really interesting mix of half standard spoked, half with the wooden spoke (more great pics on his site)



-Yepp, it's brown - as I'd been saying for a good while now, they should really come out with a brown (to match brown leather saddles, and/or brown tires on classic styled bikes) and a cream coloured (to match the cream coloured tires on the classic transport bikes that have been the big trend here the last 3+ years) Yepp bicycle seats. Nice to see it happen, would be even nicer to see it nicely coordinated on a bike to match.