Seeing the Unexpected

After hankering for a frappaccino when in New York last week, it seemed more community friendly to find somewhere local. That's how I stumbled on a 75 cent coffee sandwich-board sign on Bowery Street in Soho...after wandering in, I heard sounds drifting from what turned out to be a back room.

I peered through a gap in the curtain, swinging at the side of the coffee bar, to see a dread sitting on a bar stool, & thought..'riiighhhtt, what's this then?'

I went through..curiousity taking the better of me & was lucky enough to have one of the best experiences of my life. Inside were these amazing kids from Brooklyn & Harlem, spitting street poetry, clicking their fingers to words & phrases that resonated with each other. Like the poet Purple, who rhymed about life experiences; about being young, black & gay, equating Obama to being a manager of McDonalds...America is like McDonalds, still the same but with a different manager.

Being on a payphone to their fictitious mothers, imagining they were saying words they'd always meant to say..'"Please deposit"....Mom, my time's running out.'

So without dwelling on it too much, [you can see it for yourself on the videos attached] next time you're in a new or even your own city...forgo your usual restaurant, cafe or bar. Don't go & get that frappaccino from Starbucks. Go somewhere new, experience something different & you'll feel enriched...You'll never know what or who you'll discover.
Check out these talented kids at www.bowerypoetry.com &

www.urbanartbeat.org
To provide underserved youth with innovative opportunities in the arts

Blogs about Brands, or some such

My mate at Nike, sent me this little link from this website in good old Skandie...It's so you [us?] marketers can stay up to date with how to market & engage with youngsters.
The nice thing about the BRAND BLOG is that one recent post gives you tips on what books to read on the beach over the summer...
If you're lucky enough to have a lot of time on your hands...post this period of lay-offs, curl up in the fetal position, cocoon on a nice sandy dune & plan how to reconquer the world, one consumer/partner at a time!

BRIGHT WHITE NIGHTS #2

Some more photos...

BRIGHT WHITE NIGHTS

They did it! Club Zonder Filter's queens of the nights Kristel & Josine pulled of a 2009 'Nuit Blanche-Light' rehearsal for the real thing in 2010...
It was the time for the creative experimentalists to come out. Here are a few snapped at Belle Noir, at club WHY NOT, on Spuistraat #3.

BELATED QUEENS DAY PHOTOS

For those of you who haven't experienced this annual insanity...I have to tell you it's NOT just about getting pissed...there's also the fashion parade that goes along with it...

Amsterdam Love/Hate

The kicks the kicks the kicks, it's the kids that give me the kicks.



Yesterday, after a long flight from NYC, I went straight into a LOVE/HATE project.
My Amsterdam kid-connect Chakra, hooked me up with 4 girls & 5 boys 15-17 years old, from Amsterdam, to talk about what they love & hate about Amsterdam...here are some of what they had to say...
Menno [16 years old]
"I love...Riding my scooter fast...Amsterdam coffee shops & the red light district...Weed is cool to, I do that as well!
I hate...There's too many cops always telling us we can't hang out & always breaking us up"
Lorenzo [17 yo]
"I Love...Amsterdam's multi-culturalism. There's always something to do, everything's open til late. I hate the canals & old houses, other people love 'em, but they're boring!"
Adam [16 yo]
"I love being on the scooter, it's so free...In Amsterdam, everyone's different. It's the perfect place for me, it's where I'm from. It's cool when I'm on holiday somewhere, & someone asks where I'm from. When I tell them Amsterdam they say, 'Oh!! where there's weed you can smoke legally?!'. That's cool, I'm proud of that...I think it's the only country in the world where you can do that. How cool is that!?
I tried it a couple of months ago when I turned 16. I HAD to, you have to at least try it!"
Naomi [17 yo]
"I love the city because it's so busy & people are so cool & fashionable. You can do anything here.
Amsterdam is my city, there's nothing I don't like!"
Cas [16 yo]
"I do a lot in Amsterdam. I love tuning up my scooter & going fast. My scooter can now do 80! when I go that fast, I just feel free. I don't really get up to much apart from the scooter & playing classical music. I play love sometimes with my teacher & a DJ.
I love that in Amsterdam, you can do what you want. I love that! It's being FREE!
But I really hate the traffic police..They don't like young kids & are always stopping us on our scooters."
Chenna [15 yo]
"Well, I'm half Dutch & half Brasilian so what I love about Amsterdam are the different cultures. You can be so open to show what you like or don't like."

MAF Battle II

Sometimes you just gotta DO something!
Tonight's MAF Battle drew some locals from the South East side of AMS to witness some of the new fashion talent, from that part of town...

The competitors were Elsewerk [a super-talent but her show was somewhat unco-ordinated] Chanelva Maclean, Cynthia Jhinnoe, Lisa Knonno [we voted her 2nd place, but at 17 years old, she her 'Beauty & Brains' collection was so creative, & a beautiful storyline, for someone so young..freakin 'ell!]...& the winner was Wi-am Designs. She's of Morrocan descent, never studied fashion design, & just created her collection from fusing her traditional culture with her Amsterdam one. Not necessarily original, but just the fact that she designed from intuition & forming things naturally was great, & how the pieces were finished were EXCELLENT.

When she was announced as a winner, her fans just rushed the stage...

MAF's about giving people a chance..I hope she can take it.