(b)logophile

The IND (the Dutch immigration folk) have a spiffy website. They have an 0900 number with friendly and cheerful staff. They have all the documents you need as pdf downloads, usually in both Dutch and English. And so I am regularly, consistently, and enormously surprised at the regular, consistent, and enormous gap between what I [...]

I’m in the bathroom, not quite awake yet. Open the cabinet, take out the toothpaste. Reaching for toothbrush I knock something off the shelf — grab! I miss, of course, and knock tubes and bottles all over the place. Pause a moment for the chaos to subside. I pick up the nail-clipper from the floor, [...]

Good news: Waterstones (Amsterdam branch) has a pretty fair selection of “graphic novels” (read: comics). Bad news: Waterstones (Amsterdam branch) is fairly pricey. Good news: Said “graphic novels” are on a 3-for-2 sale. Bad news: In fact only about half of said “graphic novels” are on a 3-for-2 sale. Good news: One that I want [...]

… and the living is easy. The book I’m reading is the first Narbonic collection, a previously-web comic about evil mad scientists; there are four more and a sixth on the horizon. The story’s over (and rerunning as “The Director’s Cut”, with commentary), the archives are open, you know what to do. Sincere thanks to [...]

Today’s weather, as of yesterday’s forecast: “Unknown.” (Funnily enough, they did know that tomorrow would have a “Chance of rain.” But then, I could have told them that this time last year. Bloody August in bloody Amsterdam.)