Amsterdam residents prefer that you piss in their canals, rather than their buildings.

Post from: Sirened

So why is this magical drink that “gives you wings” banned in several countries? Apparently it’s all because a few people have died from it and these governments are concerned with the high levels of taurine and caffeine in the beverages. In fact, a new Danish friend that initially brought this to my attention said “it’s dangerous because it has a lot of caffeine,” saying this as she smoked a cigarette and had a vodka and fizzy drink in hand.

And the Danish government is clearly weary of high caffeine doses because they’ve also banned caffeine pills. But what’s the big deal anyways? Coffee contains a lot of caffeine and is far from banned in any of these countries. In fact, last time I checked, the French were known to enjoy a latte or two.

Red Bull also contains glucuronolactone which improves concentration and memory. Additionally, it contains inositol which can lift your mood by pumping extra serotonin to your brain. So a Red Bull is kinda like a coffee mixed with Ritalin and Prozac. No wonder it gives you wings!

Luckily here in the Netherlands there is no ban on Red Bull or equivalent substitutes. In fact, I am currently enjoying a beverage that is simply called “Energy Drink” and carries all the same ingredients as a Red Bull. “Energy Drink” also tastes practically identical to Red Bull but is a fraction of the price as it is produced here in the Netherlands.

You can pick up “Energy Drink” at a Dutch grocery store for as little as 29 euro cents! I was initially blown away by this seeing as how no energy drink in the United States is that cheap. So if you enjoy Red Bull and are traveling around Europe, make sure to stock up before a visit to France, Denmark or Norway. Otherwise you are sure to lose your wings!

photo credit: flickr

Post from: Sirened

This is something you probably won’t see at your local 7-Eleven in say, Valdosta, Georgia. But have no fear, if you’re in Sweden and you’re craving a Big Bite, you can still get one! Despite all this fruit crap posted on the front window, they still have big bites rolling around all day, just like in the US and A.

Another thing you can nab at Swedish 7-Eleven’s is stale loose candy. Swedes love candy and their 7-Eleven’s have many germ filled bins with candy that was delicious days ago.

In Denmark, you can actually buy liquor at 7-Eleven, which is extremely convenient for drinking on the street which is perfectly legal there. Unfortunately here in the Netherlands we have no 7-Elevens and must settle for eating food out of vending machines. The upside is that we can still drink on the streets, which is illegal in Sweden, haha Magnus ver Magnusson!

photo credit: me

Post from: Sirened

From this day forward things just won’t be the same. Thanks for the great memories public smoking, you will be missed…

Smoking in Bars, Restaurants and Clubs: Long ass time ago-June 30th, 2008

photo credit: me

Post from: Sirened

For awhile, many people were concerned that the smoking ban would bring an end to the Netherlands famous “coffee shops.” And if this were the case, come July 1st, some 200 businesses in Amsterdam alone would be no longer.

The future of coffee shops in the Netherlands is still an uncertain one, but for the time being they will be safe. Patrons will still be allowed to buy and smoke marijuana in designated coffee shops but they will not be allowed to smoke tobacco. The enforcement of that will be interesting I’m sure!

I must say that as a smoker and a new resident to the Netherlands, I just find the smoking ban to be very un-European. For the moment you can still smoke cigarettes in just about every sit down restaurant in the country, but in a week it will be no more. Another freedom in another country gone.

So for anyone interested in visiting the Netherlands and checking out the unique coffee shop culture, buy your tickets soon. The days on those are numbered and one day soon they will be a fun little tale about the way things used to be.

photo credit: personal collection

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I believe the Dutch translation is “smoking is cool.”

photo credit: personal collection

Post from: Sirened

This was the scene at an Amsterdam bar last night when the Netherlands scored in the waning minutes of regulation to force extra time with Russia. The packed bar erupted in cheer and everyone hugged one another in celebratory relief.

The celebration was not to last though, as in the second half of extra time Russia scored 2 goals to put the nail in The Netherlands Euro Cup coffin. Nederlands, who were the best team in group play, outscoring their opponents 9-1, seemed to struggle a bit in the role of favorite. And Russia, as the underdog playing with less pressure, simply played a little harder and of course, caught a few lucky bounces.

I’ll hand it to the Dutch for being classy though, in a jam packed bar of orange there was a group of 5 Russian fans who periodically chanted Russia, Russia, Russia. The Dutch simply shrugged it off, chanted back and when the game was over and all was quiet except for the 5 Russians, nobody gave them a hard time.

This was the stunned Dutch scene afterwards. But hey, cheer up guys, it could be much worse, at least your not Russian!

photo credit: personal collection

Post from: Sirened

Portugal was able to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 42nd minute, but Germany extended the lead to 3-1 in the 62nd minute. Portugal scored a dramatic goal in the 87th minute to make the ending a nail biter, but the Germans held on.

The nice thing about Portugal’s exit from the tournament is that I won’t have to see Cristiano Ronaldo’s retarded mullet anymore. Dude makes millions of Euros which is like billions of dollars and for some reason thinks his flashy Euro mullet is acceptable viewing for hundreds of millions of people.

Germany will now have a semifinal date between the winner of Croatia and Turkey (who are cheaters because most of their country is actually in Asia). On the other side of the bracket and which is all the rage here in Holland, The Netherlands plays Russia (also cheaters) in a quarterfinal match to be played Saturday. So far the Dutch have been the most impressive team in the tournament, winning the “group of death” by defeating Italy 3-0, France 4-1 and Romania 2-0. Italy advanced as the #2 seed and will play Spain in their quarterfinal.

Despite The Netherlands dominance, they will face a stiff challenge from a young and upstart Russian squad. Not to mention the fact that Putin may order their food to be poisoned. Germany and The Netherlands cannot meet unless they both make the finals, but that’s what I’m rooting for, as someone cheering for Holland simply because I live here, bring on Deutschland! We’re taking you guys down damnit!

photo credit: flickr creative commons

Post from: Sirened

In 2007, there were 168,900 deaths in Florida. 2,328 of these deaths were caused by pain killers (Vicodine, Oxycontin, etc.), 743 deaths were due to benzodiazepines (Xanax, Valium, etc.) and alcohol was judged to have been the killer 466 times (it was in the bodies of 4,179 people that died).

The deaths from all illegal drugs (cocaine, heroine, ecstasy, etc.) came in at 989. The real kicker here, numbers of deaths from marijuana: 0. Yup, none, not a single person in the state of Florida died from the use of marijuana in 2007.

And yet marijuana is not only illegal in the United States, but people get arrested and get caught up in the system over a joint. I’m not saying that the USA should legalize marijuana, but at least decriminalize it, this was a big issue for former Senator Mike Gravel who was thrown out of the democratic presidential debates. And of course the rest of the democrats completely ignored the serious issue of a rising prison population due to bullshit.

In the Netherlands, soft drug use is viewed as a health issue, not a criminal issue. Nobody gets arrested for smoking a joint. If a police officer sees someone smoking a joint in a public place where they obviously should not be smoking (ie. not a designated coffee shop or desolate area in the park), that person will get chewed out and told to put it out, they will not go to jail over crap.

Of course, decriminalizing marijuana would eat into the profits of drugs companies, whose drugs kill more people than all street drugs combined.

photo credit: personal collection

Post from: Sirened

Ok, so this was just the first match of Euro Cup 2008 for the Netherlands, but seeing as how they managed an upset victory over defending World Cup champions Italy, this is a huge deal. And 3-0!?! Jesus, 3 goals in soccer is like scoring 42 points in an NFL game!

As I’m writing this there are people yelling out their windows in my apartment building and honestly, why the hell not? The Netherlands hasn’t exactly enjoyed a great deal of international success in recent years, failing to even qualify for the 2002 and 2006 World Cup’s.

Of course, qualifying out of arguably the most competitive continent in the world’s most popular game is no easy task. Ask Greece, who stunned Europe by winning Euro Cup 2004 and then failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup.

Also ask England, who amazingly did not qualify to play in Euro Cup 2008. Grateful for this of course are residents and police in host countries Switzerland and Austria. English soccer fans have a rich history of burning shit and causing general chaos, win or lose!

So since I’m living in Holland now and the continent is a buzz with Euro Cup fever, look forward (or don’t since it’s soccer) to some posts about the 2nd most watched event in the world. And again, big congrats to the Netherlands on a big upset win!

photo credit: my personal collection

Post from: Sirened