I gotta say that I found Amsterdam sketchy and uninviting when I first got there (edit: based on an admittedly small sample of the city). I was staying in the Centrum district, near the train station, at the legendary Flying Pig hostel. Dudes trying to sell me drugs kept following me like tenacious mosquitoes and at night in the middle distance I heard women's screams which were not of the happy variety. (I was also reminded that two friends of mine had been attacked right outside my hostel.) It was by far the place in Europe that I most felt I needed to watch my back -- about the only place I felt that, actually. The marks of the sex and drug trade were seamy and dissolute without being hot or exciting (perhaps I would've seen that differently if I'd been there to indulge in either one, or both, but I wasn't). The sex museum was lame. I have to castigate the Flying Pig Downtown hostel too; its reputation was supposed to be tremendous -- "best place I've ever stayed" and so on -- but it was the worst; even with two weeks' advance booking I was in a moldy, windowless basement dorm; the place was not remotely clean and the showers backed up immediately. It bears mentioning too that this was the only time I've met hostel-goers who were uniformly furtive and unfriendly rather than social and outgoing (or at least making an effort at same) which has been my experience at virtually all other hostels before and since. A great many of them must have been stoned to the gills, and maybe that accounts for the weirdy unfriendliness -- I don't know.

I cut short my stay and was about to head back out into the warm welcome of the smaller cities and towns, but before I did I ended up spending a couple days 4 km away at the Flying Pig Uptown, which was clean, bright, filled with friendly people and right near the Leidseplein, a beautiful public square filled with shade trees and ringed with bars and bistros (it was near the Heineken Brewery too). Purely by chance I ran into an Aussie buddy that I had met in Arnhem earlier in the week, too. So that was good. YMMV.

Sweet! Thanks for that!

Will be travelling with wife & kid, and our plan so far is to rent a little camper do cruise around with, so it looks like we might just need a parking spot outside your house

In reply to this comment by dag:
Awesome. If you need a place to crash up here in Brisbane - we should be able to accomodate as well.

In reply to this comment by maatc:
Thanks dag! And you sir,are the roof of sift!

Right now it looks like i´ll actually be around your area in the beginning of October (5th or so +/- a few days), so make sure to reserve a table at the Burleigh Brewery

(I can´t help but giggle at "pillar" every time you mention it, since "piller" is a kids slang word for penis in germany)

In reply to this comment by dag:
You sir, are a pillar of Sift. I hope you can get back down under soon for a Sift Up - don't make me come meet you in a German beer hall ... OK, make me.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Awesome. If you need a place to crash up here in Brisbane - we should be able to accomodate as well.

In reply to this comment by maatc:
Thanks dag! And you sir,are the roof of sift!

Right now it looks like i´ll actually be around your area in the beginning of October (5th or so +/- a few days), so make sure to reserve a table at the Burleigh Brewery

(I can´t help but giggle at "pillar" every time you mention it, since "piller" is a kids slang word for penis in germany)

In reply to this comment by dag:
You sir, are a pillar of Sift. I hope you can get back down under soon for a Sift Up - don't make me come meet you in a German beer hall ... OK, make me.

Thanks dag! And you sir,are the roof of sift!

Right now it looks like i´ll actually be around your area in the beginning of October (5th or so +/- a few days), so make sure to reserve a table at the Burleigh Brewery

(I can´t help but giggle at "pillar" every time you mention it, since "piller" is a kids slang word for penis in germany)

In reply to this comment by dag:
You sir, are a pillar of Sift. I hope you can get back down under soon for a Sift Up - don't make me come meet you in a German beer hall ... OK, make me.

Hey, there actually is a Fail Ale:
http://www.inveralmond-brewery.co.uk/bottle_laifail.htm

>> ^rychan:
Does anyone know where this is? It looks like a nice place to vacation.


The emblem on the case is from this brewery, so it's probably in Swabia, Germany.

I really hope we don't get a 9/11 Commission for the economy. I'd rather have a Starr Commission since the gov't. spent $40+ million on that ( http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/02/01/starr.costs/ ) compared to a measly $3 million originally slated for the 9/11 Commission...which was increased to $14 million after the Bush Admin. reluctantly agreed to the extra $11 million ( http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,437267,00.html ).

Goddamit, just thinking about that is angrying up my blood all over again.

God damn brewery!! *throws eating contest trophy*

Jesus Christ, they're giving crowns to Canadians now?! That's it, I'm going to make a giant mentos & diet coke rocket and fire it at Canada. Sure it's a big country, but I figure if I aim at either a brewery or hockey rink I'll get him.

Seriously though, congrats!

I've weighed in on the whole british/irish thing before so I will only say that the wiki article says that the porter style originated in london, whereas Guinness originated in Dublin, Ireland. That said, Arthur Guinness was a prominent orangeman, wouldnt employ catholics and certainly would have considered himself a loyal British subject.

In the end Guinness is owned by a multinational, Diageo anyway and they are closing down large parts of their Dublin brewery. Most of it is brewed in Nigeria now so I guess its a moot point!

>> ^LadyDeath:
>> ^jonny:
uh, what's British about that? (and if you say Ireland is part of the British Isles, I will hunt you down and kill you - or at the very least down vote a lot of your vids. )
I think you need to put LadyHawke somewhere in the tags or description.



From Wikipedia
Guinness (pronounced /ˈɡɪnɪs/) is a popular dry stout that originated in Arthur Guinness' brewery at St. James's Gate in Dublin, Ireland. The beer is based on the porter style that originated in LONDON in the early 18th century. It is one of the most successful beer brands in the world, being exported worldwide


*british it is...

I did somehting like this in my last year of school. I had a wardrobe full of beer, fermenting in gallon jars. So friday night comes and I'm laying on the floor in my school uniform with a siphon tube in my mouth trying to fill 2 litre bottles with 12% alcohol beer.

Place smelled like a brewery, dont know how my parents never cracked down on that. Happy days

thanks!
the brewery appreciates your valiant efforts, Duffman.

Here I am in all my hyperallergenic middle class vegetarian stereotypical glory.


1. What do you do when you are not on the computer?

eat vegetarian food, fuck a vegetarian, buy vegetables, that sort of thing.
And make music, but that's on a computer... so.... but I play trumpet... Into a computer.


2. Approximate the percentage of time you work and you play on a computer.

like all the freaking time. since i was 5. asthma (see hatred of cars below)
but mostly design or chatting to people back home, i am not a hardcore leet geek hacker or something.
i like any sport that's wet, but i don't live near a lake or sea, so i don't do much sport.
I DJ, with proper records, dnb, dubstep, triphop... no computer. Then i upload the mix into a computer.


3. If you had a time machine would you travel to an era in the past or future? Explain.

depends if you can guarantee my safety, if so, i would like to see the future. but not my own future.


4. What is your ratio of pairs of shoes to undergarments?

1 to 20


5. Do you wear boxers or briefs?

i think you call them trunks.


6. Do you have a Mac, PC or Linux?

mac, but honestly it's only half as annoying as a pc.


7. Would you prefer death by firing squad or salmonella poisoning?

yo firing squad for real. what kind of idiot says anything else? i turned vegetarian after bad food poisoning so, no thanks, not again.


8. Do is you add sprinkles, gravy, nuts or a cherry on top?

gravy? on top of what?


9. Are you a tits, ass, or legs man?

yes.


10. What kind of pet(s) do you have? Include name(s).

none, i would have a cat if i wasn't allergic and i liked the smell of cat piss, i would call it tony blair. no, i would call it whatever my girl wants to call it (see previous question)


11. What is your favorite kind of taco?

those things that break when you bite them and spill meat all over you which (did i mention) i don't eat?


12. What is your favorite source for news?

videosift


13. What is your beer preference? Or other beverage (poison) of choice?

beeeeeer. anything english from a local brewery. Or Svyturys in Lithuania if i want lager, or a real lithuanian live beer, preferably dark. I feel old just typing this. I even like whisky now.


14. Have you ever been arrested?

No. Searched, but they didn't find it hahahahah.


15. Which is your Cheetos preference: Crunchy Cheese or Puffs?

Yikes. You eat that shit?


16. How would you describe your coif: bangs, balding or rug?

bangs wtf?
it's just off the collar, and a bit girly.


17. Is your face clean-shaven or do you have a beard, a goatee or a mustache?

smooth skin: kiss.
scabby red itchy hairy prickly skin: no kiss.


18. List your five most cherished possessions.

any video or audio recording i ever made.
banksy print, powerbook, trumpet, erm... i haven't got much else.


19. What religion did you practice as a child?

anglican christianity, but i didn't get it.


20. What is your favorite childhood memory?

yikes.
can't choose a favourite. i get vivid flashbacks though, normally embarassment or mundanity.
probably best feeling was sailing, in the sun, in a one man boat.
what i didn't like was the time i fell off waterskiing and forgot to clench my buttocks and about 30 litres of water raped me.


21. What was your favorite childhood television show?

terrahawks (gerry anderson... i think i have a sift somewhere)
things that fly out of buildings into space are awwwwweeeeeesssssssommmmeee.

22. What is your most sacred personal rant?

people should fucking create their own shit, and the government should invest more in creativity and education, capitalism alone doesn't work for art.

also cars and outdoor advertising should be banned. especially outdoor advertising of cars.


23. What is a reason not to go to Burning Man?

it's thousands of miles away and the water's expensive?


24. Who is your favorite Sift Hero?

choggie for insisting on creativity, literally with every word he writes.


25. How would your characterize SiftBot: slave, servant or secret overlord?

fiction


26. Do you have any image(s) of yourself online that you're willing to share?

if the roast is fun i am willing to unmask myself a bit. maybe some music. but i post as MINK, not myself, so my face is not relevant to the roast.


27. What is your quest?

to make 100% of my money from creativity and to spread that around. sounds lofty, but so does the word "quest". I do hope that after i die, someone enjoys something I made, and they say "hey, that guy made cool shit, shame he's dead". That's all.


28. What is your favorite color?

red. aries. what can i do.

Let the record show that I resent the male meat eating american bias in these questions but i'm like cool with it, you know, you can't help being a freaking yank.

One time I filled a growler from a local brewery full of O'Doul's nonalcoholic beer and I brought it over to Greatbird's house on his birthday...I've got footage on how "drunk" he got.

plenty of lithuanians in america. there must be a mail order or something at least, if you aren't lucky enough to live in the lithuanian quarter

while googling i found this hilarious link, how funny is this:

Aass Brewery
Established in 1834 in Drammen, Norway. Offers beer descriptions, list of U.S. importers and distributors, and contact information.
http://www.aass.no/usa/us.htm

but also this:
http://latviansonline.com/index.php/commentary/article/1722/

but i couldn't find anything with google. maybe a forum for baltic expats or travellers or something might be able to help.

Say "aš noriu nusipirkti alaus!" and i promise that means "i want to purchase some beer!" (near enough anyway)