A book review

Don't worry, I'll keep it short.

So far, the best non-fiction book (among quite a few) I've read since August is A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson. A typical quote from the book, here Bryson is writing about Carl Linne, who developed a new system for classification in biology:

Rarely has a man been more comfortable with his own greatness. He spent much of his leisure time penning long and flattering portraits of himself, declaring that there had never 'been a greater botanist or zoologist', and that his system of classification was 'the greatest achievement in the realm of science'.

A good read.

Sunday afternoon football

I'll be attending my first Ajax match this afternoon. I'm not a big fan of Ajax -- they're a money team (think New York Yankees) that tends to dominate the Dutch league -- but they are my "home" team now and are playing the last-placed team in the Dutch Eredivisie.

I'll report back soon with results and commentary.

UPDATE: THE REPORT

The game ended, as expected, in a victory for Ajax, by a score of 2-0. Still, Ajax was greeted by boos and hisses when it was all over, mostly because they played quite badly and wasted chances left and right. Both goals came in injury time of the 2nd half.

Because Ajax was playing so poorly, and the opposition was last-placed FC Den Bosch, the game on the field wasn't terribly entertaining. More entertaining was the exasperation of the fans. As somebody who grew up on the Jets and Bombers, I feel like I can identify. I'm sure there was a Reinebold-era equivalent of the "Koeman rot op!" chant that I heard (Koeman is, for now, Ajax's coach, while "rot op" is a rather unpleasant way of telling somebody to get lost). But, the Reinebold-era Bombers were dreadful, while Ajax is firmly in 3rd place in an 18-team league. So, to me, the fans sounded a bit like spoiled whiners, and part of me was hoping Den Bosch would manage to steal the game.

Photos + verhuizing

If you are into unsentimental and slightly off-centre pictures of buildings, statues, fountains, pigeons and, occasionally, people, you're in luck. I've updated my photos page (there is also a link on the right).

The bulk of my pictures from November-to-present are now up, including the Berlin-Prague trip, the Berlin-Italy trip and my recent Belgian sojourn. If you have seen the pictures, and are thinking I went a bit trigger-happy at the Colosseum (in Rome), you're right.

Incidentally, I've run up against my maximum number of photos with this webshots.com outfit, and was beginning to wonder if there was anywhere better I could dump my photos. Perhaps a place with less frills and more space. Edit: Some kind soul gave me a free webshots premium account, so my problems are solved.

Also, I just found out that I'll be spending the next 6 months, roughly, in Amsterdam. I'll be living with a family and working at an old folks home. If you feel like you need my mailing address, ask, and it shall be given unto you.